2006 December Archive at Comrades Marathon Blog

Monthly Archive for December, 2006

Farewell, old friends

After over 1000km, 80 hours and 93 runs on my current shoes, Asics GT-2110, I was long overdue for a replacement pair. I’ve been very happy with this pair, and bought them when I was last in the States. However, a slight niggle in my ankle during the last few runs had got me thinking, and I decided a trip to the Cape Runner store in Plumstead was required.

I walk into the store, wearing my trusty Asics, and the 2 guys working there both exclaimed immediately,

“Wow, those are a pair of GT-2090’s, how can you still be running in those?”

Realising I’d came to the right place, I had to corrected them immediately, “These, ahem, I bought in America, these are the GT-2110’s”

“Well that explains the different colour scheme,” and he started delving into his catalogue to prove himself.

I stopped him short of going to exact details, I enjoy running and I enjoy buying running shoes, but colour’s of running shoes bother me as much as the colour of nail clippers.

First, the examination of my shoes. He was shocked to hear that I’d ran so long on them, and proved by bending them in half as to the state they are in. So he then got to assessing my style, and told me that although I over pronate, my knees stay in a good position, which I why I’ve managed to avoid injury relatively easily. He also said that I have a very good running style. A good salesman he is.

I’ve had my eye on the first pair he showed me, the Asics Gel-Kinsei. Every shoe after this just didn’t measure up, it was like the angels were singing when I ran in these. I had read some great reviews on these shoes, and they really were comfortable. I did try on a few other shoes, but none of them measured up to the “Kinsei.”

While I took the picture below, I realised how sad I am to be taking a photograph of my running shoes side by side, but oh well. Old on the left, new on the right.

Mitchell’s Brewery Sundowner 10km Update

It feels good to reach your goals. When I started running with a purpose earlier this year, one of my short term goals was to run a sub 40 minute 10km. This is what I call a “subset” goal. My main focus is and has always been on the Comrades in June 2007, and I simply hoped that one of the benefits of training for Comrades would be a sub 40 minute 10km.

My first opportunity came in September, at the Cape Town Marathon 10km. I was on course until I hit a an obstacle, namely the end of the race. The race was 916m short, thereby not an official sub 40 minute time.

The next opportunity would be the Mitchell’s Brewery Sundowner 10km, as I posted yesterday. What a fantastic race. Starts out in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, (check out a map of the race here) run along Sea Point and back.

I managed to start at the front of the race, which helps hugely in a short race where seconds count. Here are my km splits & split time with some thoughts at the time.

  • 1km - 3:46 - Fast start, but feeling good and I know there are no hills to worry about.
  • 2km - 3:42 / 7:28 - Wow, still flying along, but feel happy at this pace.
  • 3km - 3:48 / 11:17 - Ok, going to have to slow down soon, but I’m running with some other runner’s who perhaps are stronger than me and I can just hang on.
  • 4km - 3:51 / 15:09 - Much better pace, far more comfortable and can feel the control coming back to me.
  • 5km - 3:57 / 19:06 - This was the split I was waiting for. I always like to run negative splits, but with that 5km time it wasn’t realistic. Sub 40 easily in my sights though.
  • 6km - 3:59 / 23:06 - The turn around point just after 5km slowed me down a bit, but was happy to maintain a sub 4 min pace.
  • 7km - 3:52 / 26:58 - Now the pace is starting to increase. Joined a +40 runner who clearly had loads of experience, so I thought I’d just hang with him to the finish.
  • 8km - 3:54 / 30:52 - This was the second fastest 8km I’d ever run! And it was a 10km race… just hanging to the end. +40 runner eating my dust.
  • 9km - 3:54 / 34:47 - Good pace, happy with it, considering how tired I was.
  • 10km - 3:47 - 38:34 - A little push towards the finish and finally I can rest.

So, not only a sub 40, a solid sub 39, 38 minutes and 34 seconds. Very happy and very relieved to get that one over with.

Update: Race results can be found here. 32 out of 919, I’ll take that.

Last of the races

Tonight will be last race (that I race hard in) until the Peninsula Marathon in February 2007, which incidentally will be my first marathon, and qualifying race for Two Oceans, and Comrades. No pressure. The race tonight is the Mitchells Brewery Sundowner 10km, run from the V&A Waterfront along the Sea Point Boulevard and back.

It’s going to be fast and flat, and hopefully will result in a PB of sub 40 minutes, and if all goes well, sub 39 minutes. After this race I’m going to have knuckle down to some serious training and avoid pushing hard outside of time trials and interval work outs. Comrades training officially starts in January and my mental state towards training is going to have to adapt.

Race starts in 3 hours, wish me luck.

Summer Geek Dinner

After having a great time at the previous geek dinner, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to attend the second dinner, namely the Summer Geek Dinner. So come Friday, the 22nd of December, this geek runner will be enjoying some free Stormhoek, and hopefully will persuade some fellow geeks to start running.