New Country, time for a new log.
I previously had a log on here in preparation for the Rotterdam Marathon.
After travelling around South America and New Zealand for three months I arrived in Melbourne just before Christmas. I am still far from settled but slowly I am getting there (still need to find a job so I can stop living off the weak Euro).
The last week I have started running again for the first time in yonks. While in South America I did a lot of high altitude hiking, a bit of cycling, canoeing, trekking, so to be honest despite a fair bit of alcohol being consumed I dont feel I am out of shape after all the backpacking.
Last Sunday I went for a 2.05 mile loop around the area where I live, flat out, just to see where I currently stand in terms of fitness and despite the 25 degree heat I ran it in 13 minutes 37 which I was pretty pleased with. Since then I have done a 2 training sessions with Richmond Harriers AC. The first day just an easy 8km run. And then yesterday I did my first track sprint session which was pretty tough.
At the moment I have no specific goals that I want to train for. Mainly I just want to have fun in the various track meets over the coming weeks, and more importantly get to know some people through it.
So this log at the moment is more to update on the various races I am doing down here rather tha a specific update on every single run I have done.
With that in mind my first track event is tomorrow. Down here in Melbourne they have such a thing called the Athletics Victoria Shield. It is basically a 13 event series which caters to people of all levels. Basically for say 200m (for example) they will ask people what their standard is and then divide people up into various heats based on that. It is somewhat like the Graded Meets in Dublin, but on a much grander scale, catering towards everybody from the 21second runner to the 35 second runner. It encourages everybody to get involved and compete at a level that suits them rather than the culture we have at home which is basically if you are not running fast times there is no future for you on the track.
There are 4 of the 13 events left so there is no point in me paying the 140 dollar registration fee to Athletics Victoria so I am competing as an Invitation athlete. I pay 10 dollars for each meet and can compete in as may events as I want. Once April arrives I will sign up as a full member for the winter Road Racing and Cross Country season.
Tomorrow I plan to run a 200m, followed by a 800m and then a Long Jump.
The timetable is here:
http://www.athsvic.org.au/cache/MeetFile/146932010-11%20AV%20Shield%20East%20Region%20Timetable%20P1%20rds%202-4-6-8-10-12%20as%20at%2023-9-10.pdf
I have really enjoyed doing road race events back in Ireland but for me Athletics is first and foremost about the track so I am looking forward to the buzz of competing in a proper race (rather than just a time trial, which is what road races are to me) and have my performances electronically timed and all that jazz. Even if the actual performances will be far from sensational.
My Track PB's which I hope to beat in the coming weeks are:
100m: 13.1
200m: 30.1
400m: 66.2
800m: 2:42 (that was done with Road Running shoes and should be easily beaten)
1500m: 5:16 (In 2003)
Mile: 5:48
Long Jump: 4.60ish
