Robert Song's Running

I'm over 50 and been running off and on since 1968. I have run everything from 800m to 10k on the track, to half marathons (PB 1:21 Brisbane 1993) and marathons (PB 2:53 Gold Coast 1985).

Friday, March 18, 2011

I've Lost Control

A recent comment on Dave Sweeney's Running Master blog from Scott Brown has prompted me to do an update for this blog.

The video below just about sums it up - I've lost control of my running.   I can no longer predict exactly how I will run on any particular day. For example last Sunday, I set out to do an easy 10k run at BRRC and ran 51:40 (5:10 pace) which should be a doddle but by the finish my Heart Rate was at 178 which is about 97 % of my max HR. On a training run on the Wednesday before that I actually reached my Max HR of 184 while running at 5:00 pace.

Now before you get too worried last month I had a stress echo test on my heart and all was reported as good. The heart of a race horse in fact was the subjective result my doctor gave me. The doctors as of yet have no explanation as to why this is happening.

On the other side, I ran 13k yesterday ( including the large hill up to the Storey Bridge which I now have to include as the Floating walkway got washed away in the recent floods) at 4:53 pace and at an avg HR of 150. This is the best run I have had in ages but is sadly the exception rather than the  rule.

But the general trend in the last six months is one step forward three steps back and with no discernible change in that pattern.

After coming back strongly last year and getting to 1:34 Half marathon fitness in only six months since the chemo stopped I expected that in another six months I would be able to get close to getting back to where I was in 2009 but that has not panned out.

So I am just trying to enjoy my running.  I am doing around 80k a week. I have started doing runs with the Brisbane Running Buddies on Wednesdays and Saturdays to make running a more social activity.

No goals , no expectations and no motivation to blog on such circumstances I'm afraid.