Tag Archives: Training

Goal Re-Setting

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Well.. Hello here we are again and after a lengthy absence I have decided to (re)set some goals for this year (2018). It has been four years since I had run a PB in any road running event distance upwards of a 5km.

Last weekend after completing Wellington Round the Bays for the 5th time I reflected a little on my past performances at this event in the 21.1km distance.

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From 2011 to 2018 the progression is nothing spectacular however I have an attachment to this event and the distance as it was one of my ‘Big’ goals back when I re-started my running. Incidentally in 2016 and 2017 I volunteered and paced 1:45 and 1:50 groups.

So why this history and nostalgia? To be honest I’d kind of given up on having goals in beating PBs and just got around to the simplicity of running because I liked it. There were a few moments where I saw that if I do focus that I could potentially get better even though I am now past a certain age where improvements are hard fought. The inevitable question or rather doubt in my mind was ‘could I really be bothered?’

Then I started looking at all my half marathon results.

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What stood out was that since 2014 I hadn’t really gone that far aback – OK I admit that 2014 was a great year where I set PBs from 5k (18:25) to my best Marathon (on a tough course at Rotorua) to my Half PB of 1:26 also on a rough wet day on a somewhat hilly course in Taupo. I also remember that I was quite diligent that year and everything clicked. Apart from that most my Half marathon times have been around the 90min mark or better. (Some runners work hard for that sub 90min mark I know)

So what changed – in all honesty nothing much, I did spend most latter part of 2014 and all of 2015 overseas and through back to back winters but that on reflection wasn’t that much of a set back rather an adjustment.

So what has changed now? – Last few months I started to enjoy the competitive nature of shorter distances. I started with aiming for a faster Mile by subscribing to an online coaching boot camp at Milermethod.com run by Olympian Nick Willis.

I found that I enjoyed the shorter intense workouts. One huge boost from that was running a 1500m track race in the first week of February in a new PB for that distance. Nothing spectacular again but I did find that I really enjoyed it. Cogs started turning and I suddenly felt that I could probably set a few goals for the short term. Perhaps aim to run as close to a 18:25 5km again? A faster 1500m? This thinking has certainly made me excited.

When I got a free entry to Wellington Round the Bays about 3 weeks from the event I decided OK – ‘I’ll have a go and see what happens’. The truth was I actually enjoyed the race and it was clear that with a bit of diligent planning I can indeed re-set my goals to match or even better 2014.

Maybe it also has something to do with the fact I got beaten by someone who had put in the work. Time to settle the scores.

CKGoals

Bring IT!

Cigna Wellington Round the Bays 2017

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Hello Everyone, Thought I’d share something that I had written a few years ago leading upto the 2013 Round the Bays. If you are aiming to run a PB for the 21.1km (Half Marathon) you may find some useful information. I have done RTB half for a number of years and last year (2016) I volunteered as a Pacer for the 1:45 group.

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Pacing 1:45 Half Marathon Group at Cigna Round the Bays in 2016
The following series of posts are written geared towards those of you who want to target a specific goal time on your half marathon and I hope you find this helpful. As a Wellington based runner I am always happy to help others.

All the best and good luck with your training!

Rotorua marathon and a long overdue update

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It’s been quite a while since I last updated what I’ve been up to since running the Wellington Round the Bays half marathon in February. So here is a quick summary of what I’ve been up to in terms of my training preparation for the 50th Rotorua Marathon since that event. Rotorua Marathon is actually only 6 sleeps away on 3rd May 2014.

March and April 2014

After Wellington Round the Bays I was straight back into full training mode with some solid back to back weeks of 100kms plus of running. This meant a total of 10 weeks to do some strength endurance based work as well as targeted speed work to be marathon ready. The highlight of March was a solid team effort at the Tarawera Ultramarathon in Rotorua where my team placed 12th in the relay of 70km. My buddies Nick, Aaron and Daniel who are part of my club did really great in tough conditions on the day. The course was altered at the last minute due to a tropical cyclone that was coming towards the forest where the original trail went through. In the end everyone who participated had a great time. This is certainly a great event to be part of in the New Zealand trail running calendar. I got to meet Vera (aka Supergeneric girl!) BONUS!

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Team Lost in the Woods charging through the trails of Tarawera.

The weekend was spent running in some of the best trails in and around Rotorua. I also got to meet Sage Canaday (DOUBLE BONUS) who is now the two time winner of the Tarawera Ultra marathon.

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Meeting Sage Canaday in the Redwoods

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Great times with great running buddies

My friends who did the Ultra Distance kicked ass with some of them being in the top 10 of both the long and short courses.

After Tarawera it was pretty much back to a lot of training involving some solid mileage and tempo and interval work. I also included a 6 week block of strength conditioning twice a week.

10 km Personal Best (Road Race)

On 5th of April (incidentally also my 40th birthday) I ran a 10km club race for our running club Wellington Scottish Athletics. My aim was to run a steady conservative effort and I was not aiming to go all out. Somehow this day I felt really good and strong and my conservative effort actually felt pretty steady and easy which resulted in me shaving off a full 2 mins off my previous 10km race time and running a 40:22 – 10km race. This was a great indication that my marathon training was paying off. Not only could I maintain avg 4min per/km pace I felt really good afterwards and didn’t need a long time for recovery.

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Racing in Wellington Scottish colors. Waterfront 10km club race in April.

Overall I feel I have done a pretty good chunk of training and my average mileage has significantly increased from last year. If any of you are on Strava check out my profile and connect.

Easter/Anzac Weekend

Last week was a long weekend (Easter and Anzac) which provided a great opportunity to travel and explore some great trails. Although I should have actually cut back on mileage and gone into a taper I ended up running in some great trails in Tongariro National Park and Kinloch in Taupo. This included the following trails.

  • Old Coach Road from Horopito to Ohakune and back (25kms)
  • Whakapapaiti Trails in National Park (14kms)
  • Tongariro Northern Circuit (46kms) – one of the Great Walks of New Zealand
  • Huka Falls to Aratiatia trail (10kms)
  • Kinloch W2K Trail out and back (22kms)

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With this amount of running I am taking this week before Rotorua very easy and resting for the Rotorua Marathon. As usual watch out for the post race update next week and I am hoping that it will be a positive one – but it’s a Marathon and no matter what you have done what you feel on the day and during a marathon is what makes the difference. I am staying positive that I will be able to run a great marathon. The place is going to be buzzing with over 9000 people participating in the full and half marathon distances.

 

 

 

Road to Rotorua Marathon

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Happy 2014 everyone!

With a new year come new running plans, well actually not really ‘new’ but goals for the year nonetheless and events that I am looking forward to. Unlike last year I won’t be planning on doing a lot of events but will choose a few key running events as the year goes on. After my first successful marathon attempt in June 2013 I already had added Rotorua marathon as my second marathon attempt. For the Rotorua marathon it is a significant year as it is going to be the 50th anniversary event. I am currently in a build up phase and it will be 16 weeks to Rotorua (3rd May 2014) from next week. Ideal time to start focusing and get into training mode.

Before Rotorua I am also going to be aiming to run at the Wellington Round the Bays half marathon. This is the local Wellington event that I have done for the last three years so it is only logical that this was in the running schedule for the year. It’s roughly about 6 weeks and then 10 weeks to Rotorua after that.I actually love doing half marathon events, in fact I am probably going to stick mostly with races that are 20-30km in distance apart from the odd marathon maybe once a year.

Goal for Rotorua are to beat my current PB of 3:25 for the marathon. So my training goal is 3:15-3:20 but the Rotorua course is a bit harder than other courses so I will need to keep that in perspective. In any case I will aim to train well and be ready as much as I can be. Beyond Rotorua marathon I have another significant overseas marathon event planned but at the moment I will keep myself focused on Rotorua first.

thanks for stopping by.

September update and a Half marathon PB

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Haven’t been able to update on what’s been happening so here is a bit of a recap on August and September. August was about maintaining a steady base with some good runs. Through a three week period I was able to maintain 3 weeks of 85+Kms per week. This was a pretty good period with some good hill runs and some speed work done at the local track with some of my buddies. This resulted in a personal best half marathon time of 1:32:06 on the 15th of September at the Pelorus Trust Half Marathon. Previous half marathon PB was 1:33:56 which I ran in February this year.

September Mileage - 3 weeks of 85+ Kms

September Mileage – 3 weeks of 85+ Kms

The Pelorus race course was not an easy course as it ran along some streets and over a railway bridge and on a side of the Hutt river trail out and  back. The back leg was exposed to a southerly head wind which slowed some of the runners including me. My run was pretty good with an average pace of about 4:20min per Kms. This is a pretty good indication that I can push for a sub 1:30 in the coming months and aim to run 4:15min splits.

Coming weekend (Saturday 28th September) is the 40km Abel Tasman coastal classic trail run which is a tough run with some undulating off road terrain in the Abel Tasman national park. My aim is to finish and take it easy through this run. There are a number of people from Wellington Running Meetup who is heading down for this so it will be a fun event. After the Abel Tasman my longer term aim is the 50th Rotorua Marathon in May 2014. I’ll post my training plan for the Rotorua marathon (my second) in the coming months. Since this is my second marathon my aim would be to run a personal best time. Based on my last (first marathon) effort I’m confident that I can aim for a reasonable time. Between now and then I will aim to do some half marathons to keep myself motivated.

In November this year (2013) I am planning to run the Tongariro Northern circuit with a local trail runner Julian Bee who is raising funds for CureKids by running all of the great walks of NZ. The Tongariro Circuit is about 43kms.