It is funny when you sit down with someone that knows that you are honest with them and how things are progressing. To have an opinion about which direction you want to go, and what is the best way to get there.
It is also funny that when that person listens to your opinion on your thoughts and direction and takes it on board when planning your program and the direction that the partnership is going to travel.
The reason why I say this, every time I meet with Andrew (TMC) to construct a program I can tell him what I would like to do, how I am feeling and a report on the previous program/discussion. Andrew then comes up with a well thought answer which satisfies my question/curiosity/or what ever the situation.
For the previous times we have sat down pre-race (whatever that race might be) he has blown me away with some of his predictions about my capabilities. Example : Yeppoon 1/2 Ironman, Andrew predicted my ride & run time within the minute of both. For him, knowing the truth about my training & lifestyle can give him the confidence of writing a program for me and also learn my boundaries.
So after our meeting most recently, we discussed my race plan for the Geelong 1/2 Marathon on the weekend. My ultimate goal was to break 80mins (see last post), when I told Andrew this, he plainly so "no". This could have shattered my confidence, however when he explained his reasoning to me and then told me that I could run under 79mins, I thought he was dreaming as breaking 80min for me was always a mental thing.
The plan was to run 3min 45sec for the first 15k then try to pick it up for the last 6k....hmmm...always going to be a tough ask in my eyes. We did discuss this in depth and my doubts vs his trust and confidence. In the end he won and I posted about breaking 80mins. I don't often post about a certain time that I want to do, but in this case Andrew gave me the confidence of breaking 79mins, I played it safe and said 80mins.
So going into the race, I organised Adrian ( a good mate of mine) to help pace me where possible as there was 800+ Runners entered. This was very beneficial towards the last 4-5k where the legs just started to hurt and he gave me the encouragement that I needed.
I must admit that I was extremly nervous (prob excitment about trying to hit the time also) pre-race and following a bit of Ironman Australia online might have contributed to this!! So with a bit of a warmup and finding a good position on the start line I was ready to go.
The horn sounded and although I had a race plan in mind I was conscious of getting a good start and out of trouble early. I found a comfortable pace for the 1st k and then settled back into a rhythm that I would be able to hold according to the plan.
You can see the data here:
Geelong 1/2 Marathon
With the above data, you will see my HR very high, as much as I wish that I could run at those levels, I think that my HR strap is on the blink!! I also failed to stop my watch as I crossed the line, however the actual race results are here:
Geelong Cross Country Club (Inc.)
Race No : 3
Athlete's Foot - Saucony
Geelong Half Marathon 2011
1-May-11
Venue: Barwon River
Pos Reg Runner Clock Rate Category Gender Category Place
1 1777 Jason Woolhouse 1:07:53 3:13 Open Male 1
2 1567 Stephen Smith 1:13:42 3:29 Open Male 2
3 1429 Grant Morgan 1:13:55 3:30 Open Male 3
4 1486 Adrian Phelan 1:16:26 3:37 Open Male 4
5 1631 David Venour 1:16:32 3:37 Veteran Male 1
6 1951 Watto's Warriors 1:17:15 3:39 Relay 1
7 1562 Grant Simpson 1:17:28 3:40 Veteran Male 2
8 1050 Michael Bialczak 1:17:53 3:41 Masters Male 1
9 1150 Peter Cutler 1:18:00 3:41 Open Male 5
10 1847 Xavier Coppock 1:18:17 3:42 Open Male 6
11 1521 Darren Riviere 1:18:31 3:43 Veteran Male 3
12 1199 Andrew Ferguson 1:18:54 3:44 Open Male 7
13 1606 Hugh Thyer 1:19:13 3:45 Open Male 8
14 1719 Jack Verstraten 1:19:23 3:45 Veteran Male 4
15 1068 Ray Bradbury 1:20:13 3:48 Veteran Male 5
16 1565 George Skoufis 1:20:30 3:48 Open Male 9
17 1854 Scott Nicholas 1:21:25 3:51 Open Male 10
18 1123 Brooke Condon 1:21:56 3:52 Open Female 1
19 1437 Geoff Moulday 1:22:17 3:53 Veteran Male 6
20 1737 Craig Keenan 1:22:33 3:54 Open Male 11
This is the top 20 out of the 800 finishers.
So, after the start, I managed to settle into a good tempo and hold 3.42 mpk pretty consistently until the 10k mark (36min 40sec). My legs felt good and I was leading a rather large pack, so I decided to increase the speed just slightly to see how everyone else was feeling. I lowered the pace to 3.36 - 3.37 and held onto that for a few k's and still was feeling really good. Once we got to the 12k mark I had a quick glimpse to find that I only had 1 other guy with me, so I then settled back into a 3.40 pace with some slightly faster k's in there.
The hour went by and I had just over 16.6k on the clock and was still feeling good. By the time 17.5k had passed and with some slightly undulations/little rollers, my legs were starting to feel the pinch. Adrian then kicked in and gave me some encouragement, humour & distance updates on the guy behind me. I knew that I was sitting 10th on the road (9th individual) and I was determined not to drop out of the top 10. I had worked to well to let it go!!
My pace dropped to 3.50 until the 20k mark where the course flattened right out (don't get me wrong, it is a flat track, but some little rises do take the pinch out of the legs). Once the last 1.5k were upon me I increased the pace again to finish the race off strong.
My final time was 1hr 18min 17sec which placed me 9th individual and 10th overall. A pb by a BIG number and one that I will break again at my next race.
Knowing that Andrew can pick my times, it does give me confidence and trust that if I do stick to his (to the best of my ability) I will continue to punch out good numbers.
The next 7 days all involve running and I am looking forward to everyone of them.
For now...
X-Man
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