Reebok Premier Roadplus=40miler is a goer!

Sunday 23rd March AM; Ran for 37minutes 30secs for 7.5km(very approximate distance measure)Heart rate 147 at end. About 5.00min per km pace...

Threw in a few surges on a tour of local parks, and found my new Reeboks great to run in. My first run in them. New life, new shoes all in keeping with the Easter theme today of New life that Jesus the Christ gave us about 2 thousand years ago...
when he arose from the grave in victory! Very appropriate that Grave Forsaken new album Destined for Ascension is out next week....You can listen to some of the new tracks on their myspace page HERE...

PM; 30 minutes "backyard style" cricket with my Dad and brother at Whiteman Park.

Friday 21st March AM; 200 Ab crunches
PM; 10min ride on Joels exercise bike. 5.5km covered. heart rate mostly around 120, cranked it up at the end up to 150bpm by increasing cadence heaps in last 2 minutes.

Looks like I will be in Mt Helena from 0630 to 1315 running the 40 miler race on the railway heritage trail this Monday 24th March. Start and finish is in gravel carpark off Keane street. see Herefor race info...Last year I unofficially ran 32km (in 3 hours 41 minutes) of the course...(see my post about it @ HERE....
so I know what to expect, its just whether I can last for 64km and the big challenge is to do it in under the cutoff time of 6 hours and 45minutes to finish by 1.15pm...

Made it to Jim Kidds last night and got some Reebok Premier Roadplus KFS(2006 model) shoes, to replace my terribly worn out New Balance 691's, which I have been using for work in recent weeks, and have been my racing and training shoes since september last year when Epi shouted me them, which enabled me to run the melbourne marathon once my tax refund money came through...

Might head back and grab some Mizunos for the Bridges 10k next weekend when I get paid, but birthday money from my Dad and Sharon my sister much appreciated got me the Reeboks, which the manager recommended. He had 'em for $100 but knocked $20 off the price when I said I only had $80...he reckoned they were the best available shoe there for my needs as a runner with the money I had...it was a toss up between them and some Mizuno Nexus shoes going for $40 (ex-display shoes)...nothing else really fit what I wanted. They had some new balance 691's for $80 but none of em were in my size.

In the end I found the reeboks were (a)felt more comfortable than mizunos (b) had a wider toebox (often a problem for me as my forefoot is a bit wide) (c) had size 9.5 (mizuno was only in size 9.) (d) mizuno slightly raised heel not sure if i wanted that in an ULTRA trails race...as it felt a bit weird when I tried the mizunos on...however I might come back get the Mizuno Nexus for $40 to run shorter road races like Bridges 10k for example.

Both these shoes are good options for a mild pronater like myself according to Jim Kidd's bloke, and just looking at shoe guide on page 57 of R4YL Feb/March 2008 (issue 16) edition that seems to match up even though the shoes in R4YL are 2008 models, and I have just bought a 2006 model shoe. Its a bit like buying cars, if you buy the 2006 model you pay a lot less than if you buy the 2008 model...

work and severe sleep deprivation still the modus operandi at the moment, micro sleeps during the day...but now we have a 4 day holiday, which for once I am not trying to work during. bills really getting to me in recent weeks, just struggling all the time to make ends meet, making me restless&edgy mentally...young Jacob diagnosed with a middle ear infection yesterday...poor little chap been a bit upset the last day or so...Just feeling a bit stuck in a rut, wanting to get off the merry-go-round a little at the moment...therefore restless mentally...= little sleep cos cant relax.

Hope to wear in new shoes in next few days and have a serious shot at getting that sub 6 hours 45mintes 40 miler nailed on Monday...Its a big ask, not well prepared but at the very least it will be fun trying. If I make it to 45km that will be a better effort than last year, and if I make it to 55km under the cutoff time of 5 hours 45minutes, that will be pretty satisfying, but mission will not be accomplished in full, unless I get to 64k under 6 hours 45 minutes, so that is the main goal, if not this year maybe another year. Its the sort of race I may need multiple attempts to finish, be my 3rd significant ULTRA (longer than a marathon) race after my two 46km 6 inch runs in 2006 and 2007...

Weather looking good according to HERE minimum temperature forecast at 13 degrees celsius, with a maximum of 27, so should be nice conditions...

Anyone free about 11am-2pm on Monday you'd be most welcome to come up to Keane street (gravel carpark at the hotel) Mt Helena and cheer me, and the other runners on...as we run hopefully 2 laps of the 32km loop on part of the railway heritage trail...

So its time to start my 16 week Perth Marathon training monitoring plan again, designed to get me focused and motivated, pretty tough task these days, so one of the major reasons why I have a blog, to try and give me that friendly kick up the backside to get off the couch and go do something...a bit like the indian "assistant coach" bloke with the spatula in "Run, fat boy, run!" movie, which my wife Kathryn and I had a good laugh at the other weekend...

WEEK 1 (17/03/08-23/03/08);

Volume; 88min + 26hrs MR work. Sessions;3 +MR

Best RHR; 48bpm Sleep; 38.75hrs (5.56hrs per night) 34*


OD/LSD; NIL

Races/Time trials/LFD; NIL

Reps sessions; NIL

5-point strategy measures;
1-long run/ride etc done?-no failed
2-2x reps/race/timetrial sessions done?-no failed
3-Abs done?-yes 200 abs.
4-cycling done-yes 10minute ride.
5-swim done?-no failed

Comments;Only managed to get 40% or 2 out of 5 of the 5 point strategy measures.
Basically was another trainingless week until the easter weekend kicked in, and I started to get back some normality in life, recover a bit. Even so Baby Central was dominating things, and I just couldn't get away for much training. However I feel well rested, and the 37minute run at 5min per km pace was a great way to test out the new shoes before tomorrows planned 40 miler attempt. Felt very good on this run and feel ready to go tomorrow.

Big blessing from God to get the money from Dad and my sister for my birthday to finally get the shoes I wanted to get for weeks...
Arguably the best pair of running shoes I have ever bought right up there with the Nike Skylons, and stuff like that from many years ago...For $80 excellent value and I will be back at Jim Kidds in future they are a great store! I think its a shoe upgrade from the New Balance 691's I have used for the last 2-3 years or so.

Training wise its well overdue for me to get serious. Have to find a way to get enough sleep, pay the bills, and get to work but still get training done. Hopefully the worst of the bills is almost over and things will start to get a bit more manageable in the next few weeks, even if I don't get a better job.
Once the 40 miler attempt is over, its full speed ahead towards my plans for a 5th consecutive Perth Marathon in July...