Tough hilly 34km run in 3hr 52

Saturday 2nd June; Ran about 34km in 3hours 52min 40 secs. Heart rate at end of 126.
Some times along the way; 24km; 2hr 36 (6min 30 per km), 30km 3 hr 24. Took a lot of drinks/toilet/rest breaks along the way, plus spent time removing gravel which kept getting into my shoes. Had two such breaks between 24k and 30k, which is one reason that section was so slow...

Was in a hurry this morning and only just managed to get to Darlington by about 0635am, and got my two powerades, 2 GU's & carkeys into my hydration pack which had a full 2Litres of water in the bladder. Quickly applied Bodyglide, and headed over through the chilly wind, a minute or two before the run started.

I started with the C-team on Pine Terrace and a few others on the same 22km pipeline trail course from Darlington (which follows Victor rd for a large part of the course) which I did with them back in March this year. See; http://runmara2005blog.blogspot.com/2007/03/hilly-22km-pipeline-run-in-darlington.html
Ran at the front of the bunch mostly and decided to follow Comrades legend rr's
pace as I wanted a fast and sustainable early pace...As we descended and ascended hills in true six-inch style alongside the pipeline through the magnificent valley, with the full moon fading, and sunlight sneaking over the tops of the scarp high above, again and again I was reminded of the beauty of God's creation and was just enjoying being out there! Started to find the pace a little challenging from about 40-60minutes in...
As I was with the C-team the traditional copious amounts of breaks was of course being taken though so lots of rests...and time wasting...and the usual good chats...sm was there again, and eventually headed off on a secret route. had another good chat with him about Freo half and Perth Marathon...This is the last long training long run before the Comrades 2007 89km race in South Africa in 2 weeks time, so I wished a few of them all the best for that. Ironman Lady sb was giving out jellybeans to everyone.

As they headed up Phils Hill, I continued along the pipeline with 4 other intrepid souls on my first attempt on the infamous hilly 34km course. It soon became apparent that these 4 runners (who all looked pretty experienced to me), were intent on getting a much faster pace happening. On one of the first hills I let them go, but made a pact with myself to keep them in sight. Had to work fairly strongly on some tough hilly stuff to do this. As we ascended the scarp I knew it was going to be a tough challenge to keep the others in sight until we got to the Mundaring sculpture park. Something I was very keen to do, as I had no real idea how to get there from where we were, except that I vaguely knew it was in a northerly direction to my left.

I guess I would have got there eventually if I had got lost, but it might have cost me an hour or so and that would spoil the run and turn it into a bush survival situation instead of a long run. Not a lot of difference really between the two, but the long run is a lot better situation to be in in this instance.

Soon I recognised the smokestack at Mundaring Weir dam, as my stopwatch ticked over to 1hr 44minutes. About this time we spent around 30-40 minutes or more climbing a steep, windy, neverending uphill bitumen road (which I have just established by looking at the map is called Mundaring Weir Rd) from below the dam up towards the summit of the scarp. Had my first GU at Fred Jacoby Park, and had to work hard to keep the other 4 in sight, although they did wait for me a few times. Then we finally got off the bitumen and away from the occasional car, and onto a nice trail called the Karramoota trail or something like that. Can't remember the exact name.
We also crossed the Munda Biddi Trail a few times, and at one point I saw a plain yellow triangle like they used to have on the old Bibbulumn Track (before they moved it inland). Beautiful bush. I was hurting a bit, and struggling to keep the other runners in sight by this time. However I knew that the Mundaring Sculpture park would have to be only a few km away as I had been running for over 2 hours at a pretty good pace on a neverending ascent. Finally I recognised familiar surroundings again as the railway heritage trail loomed ahead, and the Mundaring sculpture park just ahead of there. Stopwatch hit 2hrs 36minutes, and I knew there was only 9.5km on downhill trail to traverse, plus I knew where I was! At this stage I let the other 4 go, and settled down to about 7minutes per km pace or slower. Soon after had a big break getting gravel stones out of my shoes, and walked for a bit. Was really starting to hurt by this time, and then I saw a few other regular hills training group people up ahead on a late edition (they started 0830am I think? so very late start indeed)19km?..they were taking a drinks break before heading towards the Sculpture Park I had left a few km before..., and jokingly formed "a guard of honour" as I ran through their group. Gave me a big boost mentally that did, as by now I was on my own for the now very painful haul home...Took a moving walk break at about 28km mark to savour my tri-berry GU, and the mountain blast powerade that I had saved. They tasted wonderful, and I then set about trying to run some 7-8 minute K's for the last 6km. Saw one of the runners who had run with me earlier about this time, I reckon he must have either detoured or taken his own break. Was hitting just under 7 minutes per km in the last 4 k, as Isettled into a good although a little creaky rhythm again...Mentally ticking off the familiar landmarks along the way. Saw a kangaroo, and a few locals walking dogs, jogging or riding mountainbikes, but mostly it was the solitude of the long distance runner for me...Was very nice to finally get to Owen Rd, satisfied that another good long run on the board, means my plans to go deep into 3hour territory for the Perth Marathon this year are looking on track at this stage. A very tough run completed...
I think I want 1 to 3 more long runs in June, although I may do a few long rides instead. The long run component is looking good after a 5hr run (42k), 3hr run (27k), and a 4hr(34k)run in the last 4 weeks, all on the Darlington trails...

WEEK 11 (28/05/07-03/06/07);

Volume; 233min + 35hrs MR. Sessions; 1 +MR Best RHR;46! bpm Sleep; 45hrs! *31


OD/LSD/LFD sessions; Ran hilly! 34km in 3hr 52.40

Races/Time trials;NIL

Reps sessions; NIL.

Comments;
Excellent long run. Tough week at work, my best resting heart rate reading so far this year. Sleep a little better this week overall, mostly due to a few sleep in days. Big sleep in sunday morning, and a very relaxed day after a hard but this time satisfying week workwise. I think I made a significant step forward in general fitness and endurance this week. The lack of reps and failure to do more than one session disappointing, urgently need to work on reps now, My plans to target my Half Marathon PB (1.41) In Freo half Marathon looking a little shaky now, but still a possibility if I get things right next week, if not it will be tough. Otherwise still looking good, a good tough! long run to get on the board, not as long as the 42km I did a few weeks earlier but still pretty legendary long run I think. Huge thanks to Hills Training Group for once again giving me a lot of the motivation and the opportunity to nail an A-grade long run. That sub 4 hour Perth Marathon looking very likely now...How far I go into 3 hour territory will depend largely on what I do in the next 3-4 weeks. Of course the other big factor is when our baby comes, as that may stop me from even starting the Marathon, but pretty low probability of that, and all I can do is be well prepared for both events, and hope they both go well on the day, and hope they are not on the same day, God willing.