GFRS Training Camp: Saturday

Run #2: Long run

Up at 4am for a 4.30 long run. Ugh!!! Of course, in
the excitement of camp and sharing a bed with another gal and all that goes
with it, I couldn’t sleep. On the bright side, no worries about waking up from
the alarm as I was wiiiiide awake.

We ran uphill and downhill as we wound our way
through Noosa towards the National Park. There was the option to do an extra 4k
for a total of 15k, or a bitty 11.3k. Guess which one I chose? Yep! 11.3k for
me!

The view was astounding. We ran through the National
Park on wide, easy dirt trails. And rounded the corner to see the sun rising
over the ocean and the waves crashing against the rocks. We stopped a few times
to take in the view. I had opted out of running with a camera – I took mental
photos instead. It was just stunning!

I went with a good friend who was a little sore and
needing to walk bits. No complaints here! There were also sections where the
trail got narrow and rocky, so walking became necessary and not simply an
indulgence. Through the national park, across the nudist beach (yes, there were
even two nudists – both male, of course. My friend and I were grateful that one
kindly thought to strategically use the towel he’d brought when we ran by) and
up around the cliffs back onto our beach, which was Sunshine Beach. And after
we finished, a lovely swim in the ocean in our running gear. What better way to
cool off? Of course we all took off my shoes before going in. But I’m grateful
our run didn’t end at the nudist beach, just in case it gave any fellow runners
the wrong idea.

Total distance: 11.3km (although my watch said only
10.63km – stupid autopause!)

Total elevation: 215m

Total time: about 1.45min. Including all our
sight-seeing and gawking stops – for the sunrise over the ocean, not the
nudists! My total ‘running time’ says significantly less – but as with Friday’s
run, the autopause skewed events.

Run #3: Steve Moneghetti’s Fartlek session

After a 90minute paddle in which my poor kayak buddy
was stuck with Miss Gung-ho me in the front (“Of course we can make it
around this island! Let’s just go a little further...” It will be farther if we
try to paddle back now. We should keep going.” “Don’t worry, we’re strong
enough!”), I was ready for a nap! Or maybe it was because I hadn’t slept the
night before. Or the4am wake-up to run this morning.

Regardless, I crashed out in the arvo, hauling myself
out of bed to go to the fartlek training session run by Mr World Champion. To
say I wasn’t in prime condition for this session would be an understatement. I
was one foot out of a catatonic state when I dragged my boneless carcass down
to the beach with the group. We did a warm-up of 2k (I may have cut it a
*little* short, but I was not alone!) followed by a 20min fartlek session, than
a cool down of 2k (or less, for some of us. *Ahem*).

Steve’s fartlek training runs like this: you aim to
do your 5k race pace on the reps, with a slightly slower pace on the recovery.
So if my 5k race pace is 5.00, that is what I run on the reps, while I run
about a 5.30min pace on recovery. The rep-recovery goes as follows:

90-90 x2

60-60 x4

30-30 x4

15-15 x4

Collapse.

I might have added on the ‘collapse’ part. To pretend
I ran at my 5k race pace would be pushing into the realm of fantasy. So
let’s just summarize it into the following:

Total time (including warm up & cool down) 34.22

Total distance: 5.34km

Avg pace: 6.26min

Fastest rep (my first 90sec): avg 4.50. Hmm. A
bit fast. Can’t say the same for the rest of them! Let’s just say I got the
eyeball from Chris (my coach) a couple of times when he yelled out that we were supposed
to be doing the rep. I would have yelled back that I was – if I’d had
breath to spare.

So how was it to work out with a World Class Athlete?
Well, Runner Steve at full speed felt like I was watching dolphins surfing in
the wave – magical, graceful, fast, surreal...and untouchable. Coach Steve was
rather unimpressive. But I suppose that’s why he’s the famous athlete rather
than the famous coach.