Fraser Darcy

Coming off a 202km week with a 5km track race in 14:36 I was a little sore on Monday morning. DOMS can be at their worst on the second day after an intense session and this week there was no ‘can‘ about it, they were definitely worse on Monday. I still cranked out a good 10 miles in Belair as per the usual training week flavour though. Got started on some programs, did the normal Monday life admin, went to the gym, got strong, flexed in the mirror, *oh yeah, I’m strong*, ran in the afternoon and went to the sauna as well at night to really recover the body.

I was glad I recovered well on Monday night though because Tuesday morning, after riding the bike at the 6:30am RAO session I went out for 5*Mile with Connor. We started around 10ish because Connor was late from work and by then, it was about 8-9/10 hot-ness. The temperature was only just above 30 but it felt a bit uncomfortable to start with. I hadn’t done 5*Mile since before my hip setback so was keen to just get a good session in without any discomfort. The first couple of miles felt pretty good which I was happy with, but by the third time both myself and Connor had sensed we were overheating. We weren’t running them together, nor were we talking much but the fact Connor was out there was keeping myself accountable and I imagine the same for him. I dialled back the fourth rep to ensure I didn’t completely cook myself and managed to run the fifth rep just as fast as I needed to averaging just over 3:00/km. That’s the pace I hoped to run on Sunday in the Victor 10k so to practice just a few seconds off that was perfect.

The rest of the day I was a bit cooked. It’s what happens when it’s hot. You can’t relax, your body feels warm and you have to drink a lot of electrolytes. Of course I still recovered enough for an afternoon run but I wasn’t very productive during the day, only managing to do a few jobs.

Although it sounds like getting out in the heat is a negative for training it can actually be a positive. First of all, it makes you feel like you’re working harder which is nice. Secondly, you can’t mechanically hurt yourself as much so you tend to pull up the next day not as sore which is what happened on this Wednesday. I ran with Jacob again for the first 75 minutes of my two hour run and unlike last Wednesday where I was all stiff and sore from some fast 300’s on Tuesday, this Wednesday I was pretty fresh and managed to run a solid last 45 minutes. I ticked off some more programs in the afternoon and went out for an afternoon run where I realised that this day constituted my best streak of high mileage training. Somewhat poetically, this afternoon run felt great and I really got going and ran to feel. A run that a few months ago would’ve scared me because it was certainly not an ‘easy’ run but now, in my high aerobic phase of training, I didn’t care whether or not it was easy, I just ran!

With a race on Sunday, I could have opted for an easy Thursday and a short session on Friday like I regularly did throughout the winter months of this year, however, I enjoyed having two easy days in a row before the 5km race last week so went for the same schedule this week. Which meant, that this Thursday I dragged myself out for a short session for a third day in a row of intensity in my run, like I actually managed all through January and February. The session I prescribed for myself was a 2 lap tempo around Botanic Park (3.6km in total) and then some easy/hard efforts. Doing a session at Botanic is something I’ve done a lot this year but I’ve never done one at 7:30am and it was great! Much cooler and much quieter! I was happy with the session too, accidentally getting rolling in the tempo to run a 3:03/km (not tempo). I followed this session with some light gym work, only doing 1-2 sets of my exercises, not 3. Then, again, more time spent doing programs and another easy afternoon run which I kept easy this time.

Friday came around like it always does after Thursday, and with it, an easy run through North Adelaide after being on the bike with RAO. I left this run almost a little bit too late as I got back to The RunHouse just in time to head out and collect some gym equipment. Once I finished that, it was more time doing programs and another easy afternoon run. It was nice to have just a whole easy day with no strides either. I felt very refreshed on Saturday morning running wise and enjoyed a good 10km run in Belair and some strides afterwards. From there that was it really, I was ready to race the Victor 10k.

Going into this race I was hoping to run a PB (30:25). I knew it would be difficult as running faster than you ever have over a given distance is obviously difficult. Doing it by myself essentially given there were no other runners as fast as me in the race made it more difficult. Did that stop me from being any less confident? No not really. I just sort of planned to go out at 3:00/km pace and hold on for as long as possible.

Which worked well for the first few km’s. I was on pace and feeling ok but also knew I was working pretty hard and focusing on my watch a fair bit to make sure I was on pace. That takes a lot of mental energy and in hindsight, I think that’s what makes it hard to run a PB by yourself. You want to get the first few km’s at least, if not the first half, for ‘free’ in a race you’re hoping to run a PB by just sitting behind someone and let them control the pace. Or by just racing the race and forgetting about the time. I didn’t have that luxury though, I just had some music in my headphones to try and keep myself motivated.

By the first turn around at the fourth km I was still on pace for 30:25 or quicker, hitting 12:02. We turned off a nice road and onto an old-ish bike path that made running at the required pace a little more difficult. I started to slip a little bit but even then, I went through 5k in 15:10 or just under which is where I landed when I ran 30:25 at the Dolphin Run in February. The thing is, when I ran that race I was running with Riley until 5k so only had to worry about the last 5k on my own.

With my pace continuing to drop but my effort staying the same or even increasing I knew my PB goal was slipping away. Maybe if I just ran 2:50/km for the last km I could still get it? Nah,, by the final 2km out and back section to Granite Island I was just hoping to break 31 minutes which would still be a big improvement on my Melbourne time from 8 weeks ago.

In the end, I continued to fade away and the course measured slightly long to give me a finishing time of 31:16. Not what I hoped for or expected but at least I gave it a go. Talking to the rest of the faster runners who all came across the line in under 40 minutes many had had a similar experience in running 30 seconds to a minute slower than they wanted. Maybe it was the warm direct sun, maybe it was the bike path and a few turns and maybe it was the course being a little long. Whatever it was, it was also a reminder that letting your running enjoyment be determined by whether or not you ran a PB is a surefire way to disappointment some times.

Rewatching the above scene from Point Break reminded me that when chasing a PB in running, I often forget the things that are important for why I like running in the first place. All that goes out the window in the pursuit of a time goal. Instead, I enjoy my running and my races, when I put less expectation on my races and just run the race or the training run. That ‘state of mind’ where I’m not thinking about my watch, or my effort and am instead just responding to the race or the trail or the road in front of me are the most enjoyable runs. This week’s Wednesday afternoon run was one of those runs. Last week’s 5k race was one of those runs. This week’s Victor 10k was not one of those runs but in the context of everything else, was a timely reminder that to enjoy my running and my racing the most I should try and appreciate the right state of mind. That way, whether or not I run a PB, I can be satisfied with my involvement.

I was still satisfied with my race on Sunday and happy that I led from the front and got the win by almost four minutes in front of my RAO crew. I also did realise driving back on Sunday that my training, while being quite high, hasn’t actually involved a lot of 30 min tempo work. There’s been lots of long hard efforts in long runs or hour long progression runs. There’s been an emphasis on speed and short 3-4min reps. But I haven’t done much of the 20-30min continuous work at 3:05-3:15/km pace. Good knowledge for next time I guess in the experiment of self coaching myself.

The next time I race a 10km won’t be for a while I think though. The next race I do also won’t be for a while I think. It’s quite possible I won’t race until January 12th which is exciting because: a) I have raced on average once every fortnight this year so having five-six weeks off that schedule means I can (b) train consistently and continue my experiment of running 200km’s a week as a base building phase. So far, four weeks into it (although this week was a slight down week of 175km’s) I am still handling the training well and keeping injury free. The challenge now comes in maintaining that for another four weeks. Keep reading of course over the next month to see how I go. What else is there to do but read my little training updates once a week?? Thanks for reading this one!