1500m 4;35.8

Saturday at QSAC Nathan 8;00am start, typical humid warm and windy.
I think I have run 1 x 1500m in the last 5 years. My aim this year is to try and break Alan Bradford's stranglehold on all Queensland 1500m records from M45 to M65. His M55 mark is 4;27.4 and its possible that with the right conditions and in the right condition I could get close.
I have been no where near his marks at
M45 = 4;03.16 (my best was 4;18.3@ age 47)
M50 = 4;08.09 (my best was 4;22.5 @ age 50)
M55 = 4;27.40 (my best is 4;35.8 @ age 55)
However, this is a whole different world of pain than that generated in a 5 or 10,000m.
On Saturday our race field was about 15 strong (including two walkers). I immediately led and worked hard. Getting to 300 in about 50 (the stadium finish line clock was running 5 seconds slow showing 45 and I was thinking blimey that's quick! Through 700m in 2;05 and the lactate feeling starts to take hold! The finishing straight wind was causing me to work very hard and sensed I was 'tieing up' but tried my best to relax. It is a horrible feeling but I will do a few more 1500's as I feel they will help my 3 and 5K times. 4;35.8, it wasn't long ago that I was able to run two of those back to back in a 3000m - the tragedy of ageing! Can I knock two seconds a lap off that time? I'm currently at 73.x and I need 71.x to run 4;27.3.

3000m 9;43.54

This race open meet is put on by the University of Southern Queensland Athletics Club the track is at Sippy Downs about 50mins North from my home. I saw a 3000m advertised with an 8.00pm start the hope was for calm benign conditions and fast open age runners to drag me around to a sub 9;30. I'd rather race than do a track session by myself.
The day was really really hot. Where I was working in the city and Caboolture the temperature had got to 34 O C early so I was a little concerned that heat was going to be a factor. However a wind blew up in the arvo that cooled things down unfortunately the wind didn't die down and at start time was blowing at 32kmph with gusts to 41kmph (according to BOM). The field comprised Sam Blake (a hugely talented kid) who was aiming for sub 9;00 Adam Hulme (Phd student doing doctorate on running injuries) aiming for 9;30, myself and Zac (goal high 11;00).
Just before we started John Lean (age 20 who had run  a 1;56 800m earlier - in that wind!) agreed to jump in to pace us for a KM which was fantastic especially as he stayed on track for 2km.
Sam disappeared off the front after 400m (about 70) John Lean led me and Adam sat on my tail. Unfortunately John was always a touch too far ahead to provide any wind break and besides the wind was coming diagonally (Adam was able to position himself on my right shoulder every time we hit the wind in the finishing straight). We ran 3;08 first Km 5;44 at 1.8km. With 600m to go Adam rounded me and offered wind protection for the last two laps but I was gone and he gaped me a massive 15 secs by the finish! Adam ran about 9;26 and as I crossed the line they called 9;41 'highs' but not sure what my official time is yet. I stopped the Garmin past the finish.
My glute/hamstring that has been given me gip  since the winter was quite sore during the race. I am using the hand held roller on it and get it worked upon when I get massage.
I'm going to run a 1500m on Saturday which should be interesting.
I have done no appropriate speed work at all and expect to suffer horribly. My goal is to run close to 4;30 but would like to under 4;27 this summer with a little appropriate training.

5000m 16:22.04

This was a Queensland Athletics Open meet at the Queensland State Athletics Facility ANZ Stadium Saturday evening. Start time 6:00pm just a bit too warm at that time and wind blew up after it being calm all day. Only 8 entrants in the men's two in the girls , only one showed up so we went off together.
Originally they had scheduled two women races and two men's and a 7:00pm start time would have been far preferable.
The state of track distance running is shocking if we can only get 8 entrants for a 5000m race. The 800m had 4 heats, which shows that the Athletes are there but they don't want to run 5000 on the track. Big shame for me as I had been hoping to get some help to run 16:00.
Saying that, there were two quality guys in our race Aiden Hobbs and Charles Chambers
with Brendan Press providing 3:00km pacing duties for 3km.
At the gun the 3 young dudes headed off to immediately gap Peter Bracken and myself, as I tucked in behind Peter for 200m but 38 was way too slow so I took his lead and picked it up. There was no time at the 200m mark (race start line) just at the finish line an official appeared to be calling out random numbers that hardly corresponded to our actual times or even lap times.
Did hear 3000m was 9:45 so I had fallen off pace suffering in the wind and heat. Peter (age35) stuck to my arse like a leech with occasional moves to my shoulder but never took it on once!!!
Well not until the final 120m when he rounded me and sprinted past like he was racing me! We get very few opportunities to run 5000m in evening track meets (only two a year!) So it was disappointing to not get the entrants and not get any help to run a quicker time.
Saying that, 16:22 puts me #3 in the M55 World Rankings this year, and by way of further context only 5 pommie M55 have ever run faster (all time) and it ranks about 30th fastest athlete on the all-time World M55 list.

M55 5000m 2016 World Rankings

M55 5000m All time World rankings

M55 5000m All time British Rankings (Power of 10)

World Masters Athletics Championships Perth Half Marathon M55 1st 73:42

I had a 5 day break between the 10000m and the Half, where I just 'ticked over' in training and lazed about. I saw Deep Water Horizon and The Accountant. Both excellent films. My mate Stuart Moore works for BDO in Perth, one of the main sponsors of the Championship, so we attended the Athletes Party with sponsors tickets. Among others we got to meet Stuart Galloway from Canada, 3rd in the M55 5000m and 1st in the 1500m.

He is retired from work! I can't believe people my age are so well set they are retired at 55! Really nice guy.

So to race day. 

Conditions had cooled down from previous day's 33 O C but the wind was blowing a gale for the 6:30am start and the temperature was about 20 O C. The race plan was to win the M55 first and foremost but have a crack at the M50's. 

At the 10,000m a Kenyan sat down next to me and we got talking. He told me he was entered wrongly as a M50 but was actually M55 and only doing the Half!!! I asked him what time he expected to run and he said 67mins!!! (3 minutes under the M55 WR !)

I later Googled him and saw a 78min result probably in hot Kenyan conditions on crappy roads - definitely a threat. His name Stephen Kihara. 

The Race starts and the strong headwind meant a lead group of Kenyans and others formed, as we hammered along narrow bike or pedestrian Swan River side pathways. 

It was a surreal moment where it felt like I was watching an elite big city Marathon TV coverage.

They (the Kenyans) hand signaled the numerous street furniture hazards (bollards or slower moving earlier starting Marathoners).

At about 5km the younger Kenyans and Portuguese M45 Davide Figueiredo gaped our group that comprised the young M45 Dutch guy Patrick Kwist, a tall Czech M35 Vladamir Srb, the M55 Kenyan Stephen Kihara,  M50 Pommie Paul Thompson, the M50 Swede Anders Dahl , M50 Aussie Bruce Graham and myself.

The Kenyan looked good, very good as he took turns to lead our group. I was worried. The left glute was painful, the heat was building, I managed a gel at 10km but no water. Our first 5km was run in 16;53, the second 5km wasn't much slower @ 17;11, so 34;04 for 10km (my Garmin lost GPS tracking so I'm giving Paul Thompson's splits).

The course was difficult to navigate as we past more and more Marathoners who had started 20 minutes before us.

Finally we reached the turn around (Bruce Graham and Anders Dahl had been dropped), I was hoping to benefit from what should have been a following wind. However that also meant we would start to heat up. I followed behind the Kenyan and he started to drop off our small group. The 3 gaped us and I was happy to sacrifice possible M50 success as Paul Thompson pushed on. I spent about two km following the slowing Kenyan before I decided to make my break for category victory at about 13km. I kicked in a hard K and dropped the Kenyan!

Then it was basically 'hanging on', hoping I could coast in without too much effort as the pain of the campaign started to bite. I ran the last 8km by myself.

My friend Andy Green had counselled that at some point 'its going to hurt' and his prophetic words rang loudly in my head. 

Very happy with 73:42 because I reckon that's pretty good (ranks me 14th best M55 All-time) and in a one off, cooler, less windy race, I think I could still knock a minute off that time.

It was a fantastic experience meeting like minded Masters runners who love doing what I love doing and what a joy to get to the start line and be able to perform to the best of my abilities.

The early leading pack, Czeck, Dutch, Kenyans, Pom and Aussie.

I made only one grab for water = unsuccessful!

I carried a gel till 11km

Closing in on the finish, "what's my lead on the Kenyan?"

The pain of 4 races in 12 days starts to bite and the head wind that we battled on the way out died down on our return (note the limp flag) so the heat was building

They said it was flat!

Immensely proud

The main threat in my Category coincidentally sat next to me 5 days earlier.

M50 winner Paul Thompson a New York based Pommie!

Bruce Graham unfortunately born just a few months too young to make the M55 nevertheless had a sensational Championship competing in the same events as me

Skippy HuRTS squad member Andy Hayden finished 4th M40 behind three Kenyans

World Masters Athletics Championship Perth M55 10,000 1st 33:15

I was confident I could win so long as no last minute Kenyans came out of the woodwork! So the plan was to run it, the same as the last time, Hard lap, Float lap. Keep it going as long as possible, no particular goal times to achieve.
Conditions were warming up and still blustery for our race though the wind thankfully was calming down and nothing like the 5000m gale!
70/72 first lap!, a Masters World Championship race will give you a few seconds boost! Into my 'Float' and I didn't particularly slow down much, covering the 1st KM in 3;09.
From there it was pretty much a case of trying to keep the hard efforts to raise the tempo and the float laps honest.
I guessed I was clear but had no idea other than a vague inference from the announcer (who I only heard in the home straight).
There was a clock on the start finish line but I didn't fancy the mental arithmetic to work out my laps. There was another electronic board that scrolled the competitors names, order and laps to go or completed (not sure). I only looked at it once. I was aware that I'd covered 5200 a little faster than 3 weeks ago, and was later told I'd gone through 5000 in 16:25 which was motoring considering all the factors.
Edit; I actually went through 5000m in 16;16.
Inevitably in the second half I started to tire and slowed down. I think I went through the first 6km in 3:15 average and the last 4km in 3:25 average.
I was happy with 33:15, which ranks 11th all-time M55, though getting the bell in 32:00 and realizing back in 2011, Keith Bateman would have lapped me on his way to the WR 31:51 was a sobering thought.
I heard afterwards that I had lapped the field by lap 15 and was on the way to double lapping the field, winning by over two minutes.
I have five days to rest up before Sundays Half Marathon. Today I went for an easy 11km run along the Mara course with M55 5000m 2nd placer Alex Stienstra (Netherlands). A really nice guy with very quick 1500 and 5000 times this year 4:22 &16:02. Unfortunately injuries kept his training to a minimum these last few months, so he was ecstatic to win the Silver. I hope he gets a result in the 1500 though of course I want my Aussie mates to likewise.