The Road (and Off-Road) to a Marathon

Note: I've linked my Garmin Connect runs to the runs mentioned throughout. Prior to my 910XT I was using the Garmin Fit app on my phone (in addition to my FR60) to track the course and listing it as hiking as in the links above. The distance of the FR60 was over by about 7% and the phone's GPS was even less accurate, so all times and distances were a bit rough until December.

At the Bellarine Rail Trail run back in August 2012, I'd been given a pamphlet for the Surf Coast Century. I don't remember exactly how the idea came about, but I remember looking at the picture and thinking how great it looked and that it would be an incredible accomplishment if I could pull it off. I toyed with the idea a bit and decided to myself that I would start looking into it, but really had no idea what would get me from having only run once over a half marathon and only two actual half marathons to 100km (let alone the fact that it was all off-road!) I remember talking to a friend at the Salomon Trail Series #4 in Anglesea and saying that I was planning to run 70km a week, which I'd increased from 50km because I figured then it would be more than enough. He seemed convinced, so I started out with that plan in mind.
 
Previously I'd been only running over 30km a week since mid August and only ever run 70km once, two weeks before the race in Anglesea. It was comprised of my work commute (two 1.5km runs each work day for 15km), one 17km, one 12km, one 10km and three 5km. I figured this would work alright as a training plan if I ran 15km long on Sundays, 10km on Monday, 5km Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 15km again on Friday (again adding the 15km commute). The first week, starting in October, went fairly well and hit dead on target. The second week I ran a half marathon from Portarlington to St Leonards and back, but missed Thursday and Friday's run due to fatigue, hitting 55km. I got in one last half marathon the following Sunday from Ocean Grove to Barwon Heads and another 5km before we headed off to the Twin Waters (near Maroochydore) and then Gold Coast for 10 days on holiday with the family (just the three of us then).

View from Barwon Heads Bluff - Great views running from Ocean Grove as a half marathon.

Twin Waters was great for running and I already had it mapped out using MapMyRun. The second day I ran 10km around the streets, followed by a 7.5km along the beach (started the mapping late). It's a beautiful place to run, even around the streets as it's all exposed aggregate foot-paths with palm trees, gardens and bridges. The beach was tough (I'd never run on sand before) but gave me a chance to try out my new Vibram Bikilas without beating myself up too much. The Vibrams were great to run in but keeping off my heels by running forefoot really hammered my calves which weren't ready for that load. I got in a final 25km (or quarter century as I liked to call it) to nearby Maroochydore and back.

Crossing a bridge in Twin Waters - If I had to run roads, I'd want to do it here.

 We moved on to the Gold Coast (for all the usual touristy things) and I started off with a 10km through the streets from Mermaid Beach to Surfer's Paradise. While fairly scenic, after the pristine conditions of Twin Waters, the hard concrete paths and traffic of the Gold Coast made it much less appealing. My calves were still pretty sore from the forefoot running and it was a pretty average run. I managed to get out for one more run and ran south to Burleigh Heads. Little did I know there was some beautiful trail running through Burleigh Head National Park and a 10km run turned into 18km.

Loved this little spot at the top of the zig zag hill climb in Burleigh Head National Park.

I was hooked on running in new and beautiful places at this stage and really cemented the idea of trail running for me. What better way to continue hiking when time poor? Once we got back I was on a bit of a high and got out to try a 35km run from home to Queens Park Bridge and back. I had been investigating nutrition as I'd only been running on Staminade and since I had the Dextro energy bar which I'd got for free from the Anglesea race I decided to try out eating on the run. The bar was a little chewy, but the run went well, clearing 35km in just under 3 hours for just over a 5min/km average. I was still feeling alright, but there were some niggling things that were starting to add up. I'd been averaging around 50km a week (short of the 70km due to tired legs) and had just finished on a 65km, hitting 268km for October.

Crossing the Barwon River - not quite as scenic as Queensland, but still beats running roads.

 As I'd only been running with a bottle belt and the mandatory gear list for the Surf Coast Century was quite lengthy (to a newby like me), I started ordering some gear. With my limited knowledge and exposure, I figured Camelbak would be a great option and the more storage the better, so I got the Octane 18X 3 litre hydration pack (I did make it work though!). Having watched Steve Born's You Tube presentation on nutrition from the Hammer web site I wanted to add in protein for my long runs - I was already on electrolyte and gels so adding 1/3 of a ZipVit protein bar and hour seemed like a reasonable plan. I ordered a Garmin 910XT (the same one I still use today), Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX shoes (longest shoe name, ever), a Petzel TacTikka Plus head torch, some proper Oakley running sunglasses, a hat, thermal blanket, first aid kit and some thermal gear (top, beanie and gloves). I'd already acquired some cheap Nike Alvords (not a bad shoe for the price), so I finally had what I figured would be decent trail running gear (it was for the most part).

My first round of real gear - Nike Storm Fit Gloves, Nike phone strap, Garmin 910XT + HRM, Petzel TacTikka Plus head torch, LifeSystems first aid kit and space blanket, Inov8 Hot Peak 60 cap, Altura Night Vision Safety Vest, Camelbak Octane 18X 3 litre hydration pack, Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX shoes, Nike Alvord 10 GTX shoes, ZipVit protein bars, Gu gels and a borrowed Pearl Izumi wind proof jacket.

 I'd signed up for the Eureka Stair Climb with some friends from my personal training group sessions but also committed to do Run Geelong 12km without realising they were the same date. Since the run was first and it allowed enough time to get to Melbourne I decided to do both. I tapered over the last two weeks prior, running 25km on the Saturdays and taking it fairly easy throughout the week. I'd originally planned for a 4min/km average and managed to hit 4:05min/km for 49:10 over the 12km. Given the different niggles I'd had and was still trying to manage (and the stitch I had for the entire run), I was very happy with that result. It was also the second run I used gels on since the BRT (where I only had one out of interest), one 15 minutes before and one half an hour in and it seemed to work great. The stair climb wasn't too bad but I think it was the beginning of the end. I got in one  more long run for November the following weekend with 30km from Torquay to Point Addis and back with my running partner which was by far our most enjoyable run to date. The trails that kick in after Bells Beach near the Jarosite track were great fun, especially for two inexperienced trail runners.

View from Point Addis - first time it really felt like I'd left the world behind and was somewhere special.

After that we realised that the You Yangs could be a great trail running option and had never really been out there much. I mapped out a half marathon (figuring it couldn't be too bad) and we gave it a crack the following weekend. It was a tough run, but we got through it and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ongoing issues I'd been having with both my posterior tibial tendons and the tightness in my legs was really adding up at this stage. Not wanting to face the inevitable, I went straight to the opposite - planning a marathon. I mapped out 42.2km from home to Fyansford and set out at quarter past six on the following Saturday morning (running the FR60 + phone combo as I'd left my 910XT on and it went flat). It was going to reach 37 that day so I had to get it done before it got hot.

View from Flinders Peak - what a climb for two newbys!

I started off well, tracking 5 min/km to Bunyip Pool (a picnic site near Fyansford), but started to run into trouble on heading back along the river. In hindsite, I'd say I depleted (as I was still running on Staminade and didn't take enough gels) and had to resort to walking for over a kilometre. I kept the pace up and eventually felt I could run again. I kept up 5:30 min/km for long stretches and then would walk for 500m. Towards the end I ran out of water (all 3 litres gone - 750ml an hour!) and walked more to avoid dehydration. I was ducking into people's front yards to steal a drink and wet my hat. To add to the whole thing, I met up with a guy who told me he'd just passed a sizable brown snake along the side of the trail in the direction I was going. I figured I'd think about what to do about that if I saw it, and fortunately I didn't. I got within 3km of home and ran the last stretch, falling short by 500m and having to run 250m past and back again.

Bunyip Pool - I'll always have fond memories of this place. It was so rewarding to reach such a scenic and shady spot, especially knowing it was literally on the other side of Geelong. Didn't know it was there until I passed a sign leading to it.

I'd finished my first marathon length run in a time of 4:03 for an average pace of 5:45 min/km. Not what I'd set out for, but was pretty good for the conditions and I was definitely well underway with distance and off-road training for a trail ultra.