Thursday, 19 November 2015

Race reviews and upcoming races **updated 5 JULY 2016**

Okay folks, here's the latest race reviews!
I have also added races that I will do soon, so I will add more race reviews as I run them!

----------------------------------------
Upcoming races:
20 November 2016
Stromlo 10K
It's the lastest trend in hill training - run on Hills. I plan to hit these nasty hills again in November.

18 September 2016
Sydney Half marathon - 2H Pacer
Pacing the 2H bus again. I like this race. Nice views. The crowd not so much. The dodge GPS signal - not so much either. But it's a nice race and I like the harbour views.

14 August 2016
City 2 Surf
Well I registered - again. Not my favourite race but the atmosphere and the sheer volume of people is electrifying! 
Red group again - and of course it will be crowded, just a faster crowd...! This time I will give sub 65 a shot.

10 July 2016
Sydney Harbour 10K/5K
I like to pace the 5K group which is mostly made up of single digit youngsters and future Olympians.


----------------------------------------
Completed races:
3 July 2016
Gold Coast Airport Marathon
I gave this race another go and got BQ with 7 minutes and a bit to spare. Nice...! (and it was a 17 minutes PB).
GC is also a nice holiday destination, and the best Hurricane out of all its franchises. I also like the beaches and resort swimming pools there, even though I don't intend to be swimming or sunbathing at this time of the year when the water is sub-10C.
Race expo is here.
Race report is here.
Food review is here.


15 May 2016
SMH Half Marathon
Once upon a time ago this was my first half marathon...when the route was still two laps around the city somewhere. How time has changed!
I finally attempted this run properly. This time around I actually trained for it and managed a 1:40 - a 6 minute PB.
It was a good test of my fitness and yes I am way fitter than I was 12 months ago!

10 April 2016
Canberra Half Marathon - 2H Pacer
I've decided to ditch my Canberra marathon racing dream and pace the half marathon this year. I love the 2 hour group - it's a massive running milestone! The joy on runners's faces as they pass through the finish chute in 1:59...how could I say no to pacing this group again! On the right is is a photo of me with my group. From memory most of them hang on and came in under 2 hours.


22 November 2015
Stromlo Running Festival 

So I finish my year on "fake" trail (or so I was told). I have decided to do the 10k option and I did smash those hills under an hour. I felt good at the first 2-3ks and thought I can breeze in under 50 minutes, but once those hills became a reality my legs felt the reality. Yes, I am out of training! After piling on some extra pounds from Berlin kebabs and bread I think it's time to shed some pounds and rebuild my fitness.
It was a fabulous run otherwise. Love it and will definitely be back in 2016. Here is "Deeks" De Castello - the dude that won Boston so many years ago. He created this race and also bakes healthy bread in Canberra.


1 November 2015
The Sun Herald Summer Starter
http://www.summerstarter.com.au

I was only a 5km@25min pacer for this race. Just for fun, and it was fun! I was pacing the next generation of race machines and those kids really making us adults look like snails. It's a fast and flat course. Not very crowded and you can easily smash a PB here and get a placing! Had I remembered my bib I would have been 9th female (well, pacers don't count, but you got the gist!). Here is me pacing a future gun runner.


29 September 2015
Berlin marathon

I didn’t achieve a PB as I have hoped, but it was a Marathon Major and I was very proud at finishing it. I don’t find the race that crowded to be honest – I think it has to do with the group you allocate yourself into. I was in the 3:30 crowd so I had a good “traffic” flow.


9 August 2015
City 2 Surf
I never liked this run. I mean, never. But somehow I kept getting roped to do it every year with the tagline "it's gonna be FUN and it's ONLY 14Ks"

Well so I entered, partly because I qualified into the red group and yes, I nailed a sub70.

26 July 2015
M7 Westlink Half marathon
Well I won a club comp so I'm in. Just the half. The run is stupidly undulating and its a good run if you are very serious and don't get moved by the lack of crowd support.




12 July 2015
Sydney Harbour 10K/5K
First time pacing 5K @25mins. It's a bit fast for me in all honestly, but oh hell - why not...


5 July 2015
Gold Coast Airport Marathon
In all honesty the course is not as flat as it claims to be. I would say Amsterdam is way flatter. It is a very well organised course and the atmosphere is amazing around the residential and touristy areas. It does get hot and sunny so make sure you slap on a lot of sunscreen! See my post on GCAM15 for a lengthy review.


17 May 2015
SMH Half Marathon
Last minute filler as the half's pacer. Not sure if they had pacers before but whatevs. I haven't done this route since it became one big lap as opposed to two. The only surprise was that the route was actually quite boring compare to Blackmores or Canberra. Nice atmosphere though. It is a bit hilly and I don't mind it.

12 April 2015
Canberra Time Half Marathon
I am delighted to be pacing 2hrs again! The crowd and the course was perfect as always. I also had a great pacing partner. Lots of fun!
I am thinking about doing the full next year so watch this space.

14 March 2015
6 Foot Track Marathon
I qualified on my 4:13 - hahahahahaha - sh*t time for a flat marathon but who cares - I qualified.
Check out my 3 blog entries in March on it.
It is a run that has everything thrown at you. If you qualify, do it!

31 January 2015
The Sun Run (10K)
My club Sydney Striders ran a competition recently and gave away tickets to this run. It will be a great opportunity for me to get into race mode and also get my legs moving a bit faster.  #gostriders
**updated - run done! This Dee Why to Manly run was quite undulating - you do start on a rather steep hill, and then you hit another kilometre of hill at the start of the 7KM...A very scenic run. Like the C2Surf minus the ridiculous crowd.
I think went too hard up the first hill....and i wasn't able to hold my pace so I did miserably at the first 5KM. From the 6th kilometre I started to feel better...


25 January 2015
Standard Charter HK Half Marathon
Pulled out due to training clash. Dear Sibling will be doing it on my behalf...:)
According to her the race was quite pleasant (her start was 8:45AM) - temperature was pleasant; the crowd was ok...but towards the end there were lots of people trying to cross the road in front of competitors, which caused a lot of annoyance. She also said it felt much hillier than Amsterdam, with an elevation profile of 400m+ (Amsterdam was...20m!). Overall a decent route and she is keen to do it again.


19 October 2014
TCS Amsterdam Marathon
My third marathon. First one in Europe.
Start time: 9:30AM
Route: Flat (25m), but narrow lanes. Really would help my time if I was in an earlier group. 
Temperature: around 13 degrees - it was a bit windy and rainy as I headed towards the Amstel.
Organisation: Not too bad. Drink station was very well stocked with bananas and sports drink.
Other comments: Very, very crowded if you were mid-pack like me.

21 September 2014
Blackmores Sydney Half Marathon

My second half pacing race
Start time: 6:15AM
Route: Undulating...you basically run the hilly bit of the marathon course (which also happens to be the most scenic!)
Temperature: 15 degrees (?) it was nice a cool in the morning
Organisation: can be improved. the KM markers were disastrous. My GPS was not also working due to the event being in the CBD (building blocking signals...) so that didn't help. (see my earlier blog entry...)
Other comments: it's not a bad Half - but I won't try to aim a PB here. Take in the view while you can. Hills at Pyrmont can be painful.


16 April 2014
Canberra Half Marathon
My first pacing major event pacing gig
Start time: 7AM
Route: Fairly flat. Not particularly scenic but you get to see our capital at its finest.
Temperature: 15 degrees (by far has the best running temperature)
Organisation: No bad - in fast it was quite good. My only complain is the drinks station - for some reason their water tasted like chlorine!!! I was feeling sick from dehydration at the end...
Other comments: The half also runs concurrently with the full and ultra. This year they made conscious change so that the others don't get annoyed with us "Half". Small crowd so you are guaranteed a clear run.


16 February 2014
Standard Charter HK Marathon
This was my second marathon. It's was so bad I just had to do it again - ok - fine - the real incentive is a nice participation prize is you complete the course under 3:30 ok? i.e. there is hope for us mortals!
Start time: 6:05AM
Route: Very undulating (800m+). Some flats toward the end. Route is very uninspiring - runners essentially running up and down highway flyovers and tunnels. Strong crosswind as you cross Ching Ma bridge.
Temperature: Cool but humid (90% humidity!) Gets stifling in the tunnel.
Organisation: By far the best organisation in every possible way. Great baggage drop off -pick up. Ample amount of drink stations. Friendly volunteers along the highway (no one else is allowed on the highway to cheer runners on, so the water station volunteers did an amazing job)
Other comments: Not a fast route. You also run into the half marathoners towards the end so they might affect your pacing a bit.

20 September 2013
Blackmores Sydney Marathon
This marathon will always be special. It was my first marathon!
Start time: around 7AM
Route: Undulating (400m+). Flat around Centennial Park. First 15KM is amazingly scenic, but boring up to 30K(around Centennial Park, especially seeing faster runners running towards you...in some figure 8 routing...). As the route approaches Hyde Park, it opens to all people (at around 30K) - so you might run into unsuspecting pedestrians. 
Organisation: Ok, but road markers need work. Ran out of GU for us back of the packers.
Temperature: Quite hot if you are doing around 4:30 onwards

Other comments: Not the fastest route, but can be fast due to wide road and a small field (around 2500 people)

And that's a wrap for now!



Just a cute photo of my pooch with fruit...




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Monday, 28 September 2015

Berlin Marathon 2015 review

It wasn't a bad effort. I crawled back at 3:53, the 1898th person to return.
But man, I was disappointed at how I was unable to enjoy the run at all (well - from 35km I felt better but of course it was a bit late!). It was after all an overseas marathon and enjoyment should be the primary goal, and the entire time, I was biting my lips wishing to be curled up in the medics tent.

On the way to the start of the start line to the clothing drop off...

I knew deep down this marathon effort will be doomed from the night before the race, where I had stomach cramps and visiting the loo more times than normal. Stupid gastro! I tried to keep my fluids up but I knew it was too late.
Anyhoo morning comes and I felt dizzy. I tried to stay positive but it's a bit difficult. 

It was a long congested walk from the entry gate to drop my clothes off...why do they placed the female clothing drop off section all the way down the back I do not know...my number section was down even further back.

Obviously we were all late and the Germans seem to have been lax with their timing today (all clothes need to be dropped off by 0830 according to the brochure). All the girls in my section were petrified they cannot drop their clothes off as we all passed 0830.

On the way to the start line I was looking for the toilet. There are simply not enough loos to cater for 40,000 desperate butts out there. Well, there were bushes so everyone, my butt included, just went au naturelle. Note to self: don't step into the bushes in the Tiergarten.

And the gun went off and the speedy elites shot off. I was in the E group so I was amongst some very speedy mortals. I felt slightly better now but still feeling ridiculously dizzy. Well I told myself I am here so I had to do it.

The atmosphere was really wonderful throughout the course. The crowd cheered and kids high-fived everyone. To the crowds, I must have look like I want to conk out, so they called my name and cheered me on throughout. At 5km I saw a fellow club mate and chatted to him for around 10 minutes. Eventually I hung back saying that his pace was too fast for me. The guy said he hasn't run in two months! But he looked good and looked in a good sub 3:40 form.

I saw him again around 15km at a drink station and I told him I am behind pace and I want to curl up and die...he said he was feeling the same too.

My pace was around 5:20min/k from 10km but by the time 30km hits it has dropped to 5:29min/k. My first goal of a triumphant 3:44 finish went down the drain faster than I can flush the loo and an equalled GC effort of 3:49 went just as quickly. At 30km I was just hoping to maintain the same average pace and take it home a sub-4 Hours. I had to walk a few times along the way too...20 steps each time just to reduce that cramping feeling, in addition to my normal water station walk.


One interesting addition to the drink station beverage norm was iced tea. Yes - the Berlin Marathon serves iced tea. I think they were available twice and it was such a welcoming fluid. I downed at least two cups at each station. They were so tasty...


I first saw the 3:30 bus flew by me around 20km...that's them near the finish.

At around 35km I started to feel better, probably from drinking iced tea.  Of course by that time I am too tired to pick up the pace. My poor butt was doing its best to keep me moving...my calves and quads are dead but knowing that I am going to finish and pick my medal soon, my spirit has suddenly lifted and I did my best and managed to maintain the same pace.

By the time I got to the Brandenberg gate at 3:51, Mom has already left the spectator area thinking she missed me after telling her I shouldn't be worse than GC! Unfortunately I was 4 minutes slower and according to her that is when she left for the Family Reunion Area. Oh well.

I am still quite pleased with my gallant effort. If this is the worst that could happen then it's still pretty good stuff. I haven't figured out why I was getting what I got but maybe because I had dodgy water? Food? Koffee? Coconut water? Cramp wise quite possibly my form is still poor or just the need for more stretching and speed work. Something to work on :-)

I ended up engraving my medal. At the time I was a bit upset about the finish time but when I saw the engraving stand on the way out I go...that would make a great story to tell one day. Mom felt my dilemma so she said: "Here is 10 euros – go and get your medal engraved and be proud!”


So that's a wrap! Hope you've enjoyed reading my review while I finish off my beer and breztel!!!





Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Sunday, 27 September 2015

Berlin inline skate marathon

The Berlin marathon festival runs over the entire weekend, with Saturday featuring races for kinders and also an inline skate championship. I really looked forward to spectate the inline skating and it did not disappoint at all.


These guys finish the marathon distance in less than an hour. I think a new record was set today too (will confirm later).
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Berlin Marathon Expo

I I O

Given this is a marathon Major I had high expectations of this Expo. The expo extended over three hangars and it did not disappoint in terms of quantity of products and displays, but with the weak AUD everything there has became super pricy...it's a good thing though given I have so much stuff at home already.

The place was a bit hidden from the outside, so luckily there were guides who will point people to the right direction.

Naive me. I thought this was where we collect our bibs. No way Jose, this was just the entrance. Turns out you have to navigate pass ALL the counters of sports supplies before you reach to the bib collection counter.



Anyways after much pushing and shoving through a sea of people I managed to swim to this mini Bramdenburg Tor. There you get a wristband which get u access through the start area on the day. (I had unwittingly ripped my off after the expo but after reading the booklet properly I realised that was a blonde thing to do...oh well...)

Eventually I made it out of the area. The place had a massive Adidas area and there were so many people...so so so many people....
It was suffocating. I had to get outside.

The outside area was very nice. It has this propeller plane and a hot air balloon. It was cool, and a pleasant relief from the craziness inside. In all honestly I much prefer a smaller but higher quality expo like Amsterdam's. The Berlin one is definitely huge, but it's like a lot of displays of the same things. The hangar and the plane and hot air balloon are the highlights of the expo in my opinion.





Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Hello Berlin!

Here I am. After spending 24+ hours some 30,000 feet in the clouds I have final arrived at the northern hemisphere, in Berlin.

The check in was not available till 2pm so    I ventured nearby for some snack and sightseeing.

First stop: the Jewish/Holocaust museum.

I haven't done any homework on Berlin yet so ignorant me had no idea what this was. But it felt eerie...anyways after some googling it was the memorial for the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

Second stop: Brandenburg Tor

So this is THE landmark of Berlin! I was quite excited when I saw it. And I think i will even be more excited to see it on Sunday...I read the gate to the finish is 200meters.

Stop 3: Ampelmann store
 

This little green traffic man is all that is left of soviet East Berlin. It was designed to improve safety of pedestrian, and after the Wall came down the west wanted to replace these little cute dudes with the normal traffic dude. But after much protest these beloved little guy stayed and became one of the few souvenir left of the Communist East.

Final stop for the day: Backer Wiedemann

By 1pm I was famished. I saw this delicious looking bakery at Hackecher Markt from afar and made a beeline there.

They sell delicious looking pretzels and other bread stuff. I stuffed my face with a sandwich with cheese and salami and some cheese roll.

I was exhausted by the time I made it in my apartment. I think I will leave the expo till the next day.



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Sunday, 19 July 2015

Westlink M7 Blacktown Running Festival - Half Marathon Review



I arrived early today so I get to cheer on my club friends at the start of their race. Blondie me - turns out I just made it in the nick of time. I made it just a few minutes before the start gun went off and the roar of Eye of the Tiger off the PA. Apparently it is the tradition to play that song in this race.

The marathon consists of a small (think 200 people) but very high quality runners.  From what I hear the route is very undulating and boring...no crowds or music. The only cheers are from the dedicated volunteers on the course. I guess you have to be of pretty high calibre to put up with such boredom.

Anyway the half normally starts in an hour after the full started. Once I saw the guys off I decided to find the loo and then warm up around the oval. It was such a cold morning and being situated so far inland made the temperature drop even further. I went for a jog around the athletic track and caught up with my friend Simon. After quick exchanges of how are yous he revealed he had forgotten his bib! I told him to get a replacement but he said its ok..."it's not a serious race so I plan just to run it. How about I pace you at 1:45?"


I took on his offer.

And we are off!


He then proceeded in explaining the route. According to him the route is narrow and very undulating. The main relief is the last 500m where it's all downhill then flat along the athletes track. Luckily he told me all of that or I would be been surprised (in a bad way).

Anyhoo so I ran. The pace of 4:45min/k was ok for the first 14km but afterward I started to struggled. My stride was laborious and my breathing was out of whack. I think the run at GC has left a massive hole in my energy reserve and it's still not a full tank. After 17km my pace has dropped to 5min/km. I also felt stomach cramp after drinking blue Powerade. I had to slow down even further to relieve my cramp. Simon tried to encourage me to continue but I simply cannot hold on. He felt my pain and slow down and kept on encouraging me. The cramp slowly subsided after dropping my pace further to 5:15min/km. The route was indeed, super undulating and super boring. One really needed to hold onto every mental cell just to stay sane. 

Around 19km Simon hopped off the track and said see you at the finish. Being bib-less he was almost caught around 15km mark but obviously ran off pretending to be oblivious to the obvious issue...

Long story short - I picked up my speed again and ended up with a 1:46. It wasn't the time I was striving for, but then again I didn't train specifically for a half, nor have I fully recovered from GC. So I am fairly happy with my result.

I think the M7 races really take someone special to race it. It is particularly taxing in the head as there is no crowd or entertainment on the course. The undulating and narrow route has made the race super challenging. I don't think I would ever want to do the full there. The half...maybe! It's small enough for the announcer to call your name out at the finish :-)



Here's the medal!


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Saturday, 11 July 2015

Gold Coast Airport Marathon - 4th time lucky

And so the 4 hour curse was comfortably broken on the 4th attempt…
It's done and I am looking forward to run a similar time in the future. Being so physically unnaturally made for running I am one proud human being! I also enjoy the advantages of finishing a little earlier than usual. Mainly, the likelihood of your favourite post-race Cola will still be cold; there will still be food and fruit left in the club tent, and you get to spend more time hogging more sunny warm grass space! So here's what happened:

Race day morning
Given there was road closure right outside our apartment my friend suggested it would be wise for us to walk to the start. This was the best decision ever. Not only walking will give us an exact arrival time to the start tent, it was also a good way to warm up our bodies for the mega mileages ahead.
On the way there we saw the half marathoners already out in force:


The GCAM 2015 Half Marathoners out in force at 6AM
Later we saw a couple of our club friends sitting comfortably behind the 2 hour pacer and we waved and cheered. We also played traffic cop to stop people running on the right side of the median strip because if you continue on the right hand side you will have to eventually jump over the barrier. The organisers probably ran out of orange traffic cones......so  it was awkward to watch competitors jumping back over the route. We helped a few people run back the right way but most people were blissfully unawared.

Anyhoo we reached the start tent. Another great thing that I came to realise with walking 2.5km to the start line was that it gets the blood in your intestine moving...my stomach was feeling funny around half way to the start and luckily it wasn't during the run or I would have sh*t everywhere. What I love about the Gold Coast Marathon was their super clean port-a-loos!! They were pristine! They smelt of heavy toilet cleaners but boy they were clean!
The time came and we have to line up. At that point in time I was still unsure what average pace I will do. The Boy kept telling me to do 5:19 for a sub 3:45 finish. I think partly because I promised earlier that if I finished sub 3:45 then I will take everyone to the pub and shout all food and beer! But I know I cannot at this point in time because I don’t even train at 5:19 pace so I don’t even know what that feels like…
Eventually I decided to simply close my eyes and just run whatever that feels marathon-comfortable. It was also strangely warm for a winter day and I really enjoyed it as I don't fare well in the cold. At that point in time...2 minutes before the start I had this sudden urge to pee. Ugh too late now! I will find a loo along the way (I will find one but doubt I will go so I better just get the run over and done with quickly so I can pee!).

And so the Gold Coast Marathon started.

My friends looking very happy!
0-5KM. The first 2km I had to swim through the crowd and stuck at 5:30min pace. So that means I had to increase my pace to an average pace of 5:25min/k by the 5KM. I did it though but it's not ideal.
5-10KM. I saw a lot of people overtaking me. I had to suppress my competitive streak to let them pass me and forced myself to stay at goal pace (5:25) and let them go and catch them later...
10-15KM. The first turning point. As I was approaching the turn I saw the elites and later my team mates flew by. It was magnificent to watch them run! Around the 12KM mark my body has finally warm up and I was able to reduce my average pace to 5:23min/km.
15-25KM. This was the most magical part of the run. I was in full control and I felt like I was floating with each stride. I was able to maintain my average pace of 5:23 throughout the run.
25-30KM. Ok this part was tough. I don't think that the wall but – suddenly my pace slowed by a few seconds per km and by 30km mark my average pace was down to 5:24.
30-35KM. I was able to pick up my pace after a slow km (1km slow, 1km faster). My average has drop down to 5:26. I was still feeling great but I think my cadence had drop as I was getting tired. At this point I can feel cramp creep...that same dreaded tingle down my right calf that I had at the Six Foot Track marathon back in February. To restraint the cramp I walked at every water stop and also forced myself to stand tall. It worked and I was able to suppressed the cramp.
35-40KM. At this point I told myself that this is the part of the race I excel at. And I did. This was the point where I hit my runners high and I found my stride again and was able to pick my average pace back up to 5:25. By that time I was onto my GU Espresso Love with caffeine and hope that will give me a lift for the final few Ks.
40-42.2KM – Arguably the longest 2.2 KM ever. I feel very dehydrated I even had to stop at the last drinks top at 1.6km to go. Two cups in hand, walked for 5 seconds, and off to pound the pavement again. The last 400M was fuelled by pure emotion and adrenaline as I have nothing left. The crowd must have saw me with my suffering face on, which drew even more cheers! By the time I saw the finish arch I had 45 seconds to approach it. That felt like the longest 50m, ever.

I crossed the line at 3:52 and a net time of 3:49. I was very happy that the 4hour curse has truely been broken!

I don't want to gloat here as there are huge room for improvement in time for Berlin in September, but right now I am just so so so so so happy! I shed a tear of joy and relief at the finish. I even almost scored a place at the medics tent because I walked into one of the volunteers and she thought I was about to faint. (I wasn’t but I was delirious and just walking into people)


Me and the obligatory medal shot

Analysis paralysis
I need to stretch more/do more yoga. My hips are very rigid from being a long time desk jockey.
Cramps – I still have no idea why I get them. I blame it on my still sh*tty running technique. I never get them at training runs so it’s a bit difficult to work out a cure for it. Perhaps if I persevere and work on my technique I might be crampless for Berlin.
Gels – SIS are now my gel of choice. I no longer carry a bottle when I run on road so these liquidly SIS gels quench my thirst when I most needed it.
I still like to carry a couple of GU/Expresso Love for a caffeine kick towards the finale. They are very compact which is ok.
I think I should have carbed up more. I did feel a bit tired (battery charged to around 80%).
Pacing wise it is good this time. My pace was fairly even overall with a bit of a drip from 35km onwards (loss about 5-8seconds per KM). A little bit of a positive split but that’s ok. (5:24 down to 5:28). I would prefer to be identical all the way though. Something to work on.

Time to celebrate all our achievements!



Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)