• Where do you prefer to run?
On trails, on the aths track, anywhere new is an inspiration and motivation for me
• Do you run in a group or alone?
I train with my girlfriend and a small training group, which we meet each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Often we organise a meet up with other runners for our Sunday long run in the hills.
All other running is done from home or work, alone or with my partner.
• Why do you run?
I run to better my personal bests, with the aim to represent Australia at the highest level. I have been running all my life and it is the thing I enjoy and feel most natural doing. I love feeling fit, fast and having good results in races!
• What do you think about while you run?
I am usually trying to relax when going for my easy/recovery runs and often just plan the day, review the day just gone or switch completely out of reality.
When I am doing a hard workout, I am more focused on getting the best out of my body, running with good technique and trying to block out the pain I may be putting myself through. These times are when the hard work is done, so racing can be that bit more bearable and rewarding.
Friday, May 7, 2010
London Marathon Race report
London Marathon Debut 2010
Clint Perrett
After a little while to calm back down and enjoy putting the feet up after the London Marathon experience, I can finally put together a bit of a race report and de-brief of the event.
Leading into the race, I had done everything possible to prepare myself for the race. I was under no illusions what I had gotten myself into and I was determined to put in great showing on race day. The plan was to post a time that might put me into the mix for Commonwealth Games selection as well as experience for the first time an event in which I hope to have a long athletic relationship with.
The taper weeks leading into the race allowed my body to absorb all the solid training and the rest had freshened me up physically and most importantly mentally before the marathon. Waking up on race morning, I knew that all the boxes had been ticked and after 2 and-a- bit-hours of running I will cross that line having achieved my goals.
It all started well, feeling good during the warm up, despite the chill which is good for the start of the marathon. During this time though, the weather turned a bit nasty and the skies opened up a bit to dampen the roads, meaning we had to ensure we remained dry. However, by the time Richard Branson was ready to fire the starting gun, the rain had subsided and the elite field was ushered onto the startline.
The plan was to roll the first bit, easy enough, to get into a good rhythm and start ticking off the k’s (or miles as they were posted along the road). I had the company of Pete Nowill, another Aussie runner, debuting, and with similar goals as mine for the race. We ran side by side for the first mile and it remained that way until about 19 km. The only time we separated was to dodge a puddle or get in position to pick up our drinks. We kept working together and I managed to feel relaxed running at just under 3.10-km pace on the slightly downhill first section. The body was feeling good, and we used the crowds through the first few towns to really lift us and keep us on our game.
At about 19km, Pete dropped off the pace with a bit of a side stitch and I just continued to roll along. As this occurred I felt relaxed and was now focussing on my foot fall on the road and consolidating a good start. We had been pretty consistent and I wanted to ensure I got to the halfway on target time. Going over the London Bridge, the crowd was going crazy and I was feeling good, so had time to absorb it and have a little smile at the scene I was amongst. I got through halfway in about 67 minutes, just off the desired 66.30 I wanted for halfway, but confident that I could make up that time as I rolled home a bit harder. The next section was lined with people and it allowed me to get going well and focus on getting through the mile markers.
At this point, I was alone on the road, so relished the busy sections, where the crowd could fire me up and keep me honest. I was ensuring I was taking my drinks and gels as required, but couldn’t really get heaps of the water into me. I got through 25km feeling the best I had felt throughout the race so far and thought as long as I continue at this pace and feel this good, I will be able to really drive home for the line in the last 10km or so.
By 30km, I was starting to feel it a bit, knowing I had slowed a little compared to the last 5km, but put that down to the winding road and slightly windy section through the docklands area. I was close to reaching the turnaround point, where we would retrace our steps, on the other side of the road and then follow the River Thames back towards the finish line at Buckingham Palace. So the focus was on that as I felt this would give me a lift knowing it was homeward bound. I saw Renate and Roger at about 30 km and although still feeling reasonable, ensured that I stayed switched on.
As it turned out a local ran up to me during this time and I was able to respond and run alongside him for the next 4 or 5kms. This helped a lot as I could just concentrate on sticking with him, rather than how my body was feeling. A few times during this time I closed my eyes and tried to push all the fatigue out of my body so I could begin picking up in the last 8 or so kms.
Unfortunately the opposite happened. I picked up my drink at 35km and tried to put as much of it and the gel down as possible without losing my rhythm. I fell off the back of my running partner, but pushed to get back on and followed with him again for another kilometre or so. He must have been feeling good, because at this time he picked up the pace, a bit too drastically for my liking and managed to put a gap into me that I couldn’t bridge. Once he broke that elastic band holding us together, I dropped my bundle and was in a bit of trouble.
I went from feeling reasonable to feeling bad in a matter of a kilometre and the legs packed it in. This must have been the famous ‘Wall’ that marathoners talk about, and I had just met it... big time. I had a pained expression on my face and that matched what was going on inside me. My stomach was cramping and the legs were slowing down. I went from about 3:15-km to about 3:30-km in a matter of 2 k’s and was looking up the road for the next marker, and the countdown to the end.
There was not much I could do from here, but just to try to stay as positive as possible and keep moving. All I really wanted to do was have a lie down for a few hours on the side of the road!! Those last 4 k’s or so where tough, the hardest I have ever done in 16 years of running. By this time I had forgotten about the time I was aiming for, annoyed that it was slipping away from me, but just wanted to finish.
When we finally were getting close to the finish line the crowd was still yelling, and I was just counting the steps out. With about 500m to go, I tried to accelerate to the finish and attempted some kind of kick home, more so to reduce the time I had left to be out there.
Once I was over the line, the legs almost went from under me but I was so relieved that I was allowed to finally stop. An assistant helped me to the athlete’s tent and along the way asked what was sore....I replied ‘Everything!’
So after having time to think about it, I have mixed emotions. On one side I am pleased to now be able to say I am a marathon runner and am also proud that I battled on when all I wanted to do was stop, but obviously the goal was to run a few minutes faster.
I could say that it was a tough day in the office, made harder by the fact that I was mostly alone on the road, but really there is no excuse. Gorsk and I had prepared meticulously for this event since about November, with countless sacrifices along the way. However, the event; the marathon was the winner on the day. It beat me in the end, and I will learn from it for next time I take it on. There is a lot that can wrong in 2 hours of running, and unfortunately I had 25 minutes or so of bad running, that separated a great day from a reasonable day on the roads.
It has made me hungry to get out there again and I know that nothing will feel as tough as those last few k’s of running on the 25th of April. Once I have allowed the body to recover again, I have some goals that I have made progress towards setting already and I hope that these can bring about the continued success of what has been a strong year of running for me.
Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope it insightful!
Clint Perrett
After a little while to calm back down and enjoy putting the feet up after the London Marathon experience, I can finally put together a bit of a race report and de-brief of the event.
Leading into the race, I had done everything possible to prepare myself for the race. I was under no illusions what I had gotten myself into and I was determined to put in great showing on race day. The plan was to post a time that might put me into the mix for Commonwealth Games selection as well as experience for the first time an event in which I hope to have a long athletic relationship with.
The taper weeks leading into the race allowed my body to absorb all the solid training and the rest had freshened me up physically and most importantly mentally before the marathon. Waking up on race morning, I knew that all the boxes had been ticked and after 2 and-a- bit-hours of running I will cross that line having achieved my goals.
It all started well, feeling good during the warm up, despite the chill which is good for the start of the marathon. During this time though, the weather turned a bit nasty and the skies opened up a bit to dampen the roads, meaning we had to ensure we remained dry. However, by the time Richard Branson was ready to fire the starting gun, the rain had subsided and the elite field was ushered onto the startline.
The plan was to roll the first bit, easy enough, to get into a good rhythm and start ticking off the k’s (or miles as they were posted along the road). I had the company of Pete Nowill, another Aussie runner, debuting, and with similar goals as mine for the race. We ran side by side for the first mile and it remained that way until about 19 km. The only time we separated was to dodge a puddle or get in position to pick up our drinks. We kept working together and I managed to feel relaxed running at just under 3.10-km pace on the slightly downhill first section. The body was feeling good, and we used the crowds through the first few towns to really lift us and keep us on our game.
At about 19km, Pete dropped off the pace with a bit of a side stitch and I just continued to roll along. As this occurred I felt relaxed and was now focussing on my foot fall on the road and consolidating a good start. We had been pretty consistent and I wanted to ensure I got to the halfway on target time. Going over the London Bridge, the crowd was going crazy and I was feeling good, so had time to absorb it and have a little smile at the scene I was amongst. I got through halfway in about 67 minutes, just off the desired 66.30 I wanted for halfway, but confident that I could make up that time as I rolled home a bit harder. The next section was lined with people and it allowed me to get going well and focus on getting through the mile markers.
At this point, I was alone on the road, so relished the busy sections, where the crowd could fire me up and keep me honest. I was ensuring I was taking my drinks and gels as required, but couldn’t really get heaps of the water into me. I got through 25km feeling the best I had felt throughout the race so far and thought as long as I continue at this pace and feel this good, I will be able to really drive home for the line in the last 10km or so.
By 30km, I was starting to feel it a bit, knowing I had slowed a little compared to the last 5km, but put that down to the winding road and slightly windy section through the docklands area. I was close to reaching the turnaround point, where we would retrace our steps, on the other side of the road and then follow the River Thames back towards the finish line at Buckingham Palace. So the focus was on that as I felt this would give me a lift knowing it was homeward bound. I saw Renate and Roger at about 30 km and although still feeling reasonable, ensured that I stayed switched on.
As it turned out a local ran up to me during this time and I was able to respond and run alongside him for the next 4 or 5kms. This helped a lot as I could just concentrate on sticking with him, rather than how my body was feeling. A few times during this time I closed my eyes and tried to push all the fatigue out of my body so I could begin picking up in the last 8 or so kms.
Unfortunately the opposite happened. I picked up my drink at 35km and tried to put as much of it and the gel down as possible without losing my rhythm. I fell off the back of my running partner, but pushed to get back on and followed with him again for another kilometre or so. He must have been feeling good, because at this time he picked up the pace, a bit too drastically for my liking and managed to put a gap into me that I couldn’t bridge. Once he broke that elastic band holding us together, I dropped my bundle and was in a bit of trouble.
I went from feeling reasonable to feeling bad in a matter of a kilometre and the legs packed it in. This must have been the famous ‘Wall’ that marathoners talk about, and I had just met it... big time. I had a pained expression on my face and that matched what was going on inside me. My stomach was cramping and the legs were slowing down. I went from about 3:15-km to about 3:30-km in a matter of 2 k’s and was looking up the road for the next marker, and the countdown to the end.
There was not much I could do from here, but just to try to stay as positive as possible and keep moving. All I really wanted to do was have a lie down for a few hours on the side of the road!! Those last 4 k’s or so where tough, the hardest I have ever done in 16 years of running. By this time I had forgotten about the time I was aiming for, annoyed that it was slipping away from me, but just wanted to finish.
When we finally were getting close to the finish line the crowd was still yelling, and I was just counting the steps out. With about 500m to go, I tried to accelerate to the finish and attempted some kind of kick home, more so to reduce the time I had left to be out there.
Once I was over the line, the legs almost went from under me but I was so relieved that I was allowed to finally stop. An assistant helped me to the athlete’s tent and along the way asked what was sore....I replied ‘Everything!’
So after having time to think about it, I have mixed emotions. On one side I am pleased to now be able to say I am a marathon runner and am also proud that I battled on when all I wanted to do was stop, but obviously the goal was to run a few minutes faster.
I could say that it was a tough day in the office, made harder by the fact that I was mostly alone on the road, but really there is no excuse. Gorsk and I had prepared meticulously for this event since about November, with countless sacrifices along the way. However, the event; the marathon was the winner on the day. It beat me in the end, and I will learn from it for next time I take it on. There is a lot that can wrong in 2 hours of running, and unfortunately I had 25 minutes or so of bad running, that separated a great day from a reasonable day on the roads.
It has made me hungry to get out there again and I know that nothing will feel as tough as those last few k’s of running on the 25th of April. Once I have allowed the body to recover again, I have some goals that I have made progress towards setting already and I hope that these can bring about the continued success of what has been a strong year of running for me.
Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope it insightful!
World Cross race report
World Cross Country Race Report, Poland 2010
The weather and conditions on race day where not too bad, probably about 10 degrees, a slight cold wind but once we did a warm up and everything it was fine. If you where standing around watching the race, you would have needed a fair few layers though I guess.
I warmed up with the Aussie and NZ team, repping the Down Under ANZAC spirit!!! and tried to just take it like a normal warm up, so basically just giving shit to each other, mainly Shauny!! That kept us all relaxed as we knew what was about to go down when that gun went. I was a bit nervous, but not cause I was worried how I would go, I knew I was fit and that the body was strong, but knowing that it was going to be tough from the gun, with no let up until the finish line.
The plan was always to go out hard, as there was about 150m until the course narrowed right down and then hit a mud patch of about 30 metres, I knew I had to be in a decent spot so I didn’t get thrown out the back, pushed off balance or hit the mud and stop. The tips I had been given by others that had raced World Cross before and from the memories of the junior race in Dublin of few years back, I knew the start pace needed to be real quick!
I was on the front row of our little fenced off section and had Collis on one side of me and Mo Farah from Great Britain on the other. Each country had to try and jam all their runners into a small little start box with two across. We had a middle box, so knew we were going to be flooded with Africans when the course narrowed down. The elbows where up and sharpened and off we went.
Collis and I went off hard, probably doing a 29sec spilt for the first 200m, and he was up in about 20th spot when we hit the mud, I was only about 5 metres back, but about 15 spots difference as I was in an African stampede. I had to keep the eyes down to negotiate the mud section and when I looked up there was only about 4 other white boys around me, so I knew I had nailed the start!
I tried to just stick with Collis for the first lap and kept him just a couple of metres in front as we rolled the first lap in a lazy 5.40 (2.50/km). This was as I was being knocked around by people that were flooding past me or I was getting around, and I hoped that we would settle down after the first lap. I tried but the rest of them didn’t.
So hitting the muddiest section for the second time I tried to just focus on picking my line and staying upright to start with. The rest of the lap I think I finally caught my breath and tried to find a rhythm as I rolled most of the next lap alongside Collis. I never could really relax and just get rolling as I was either jumping a log hurdle, dealing with all the turns (it had about the same twists as that old Yarra Bend Relays loop), or getting through the mud. Along with that I had people going by me, others bonking and people on the sidelines going mental!
By lap 3, halfway Liam had gotten past me, and I tried to pick up and go with him, but he was moving across the ground pretty well. I had settled into about 60th place and tried not to lose too many spots over the next two laps. I managed to do this, and just as I managed to move up a placing, some other guy would get past me, so the progress was slow. I knew that if I just got through the next couple of laps, I might be able to use my marathon based training to grind out the last 4 km and take some scalps to get me closer to the top 50.
I got around to the start of lap 5 and hit a bit of a rough patch, as I felt a bit of a stomach cramp building up, that meant the breathing became a bit shallow and as a result I lost a bit of my momentum and some placings in that lap. I reckon it came on from all the focusing and never being able to settle so I was working harder than I should have. Not sure but a bit frustrating. So finally lap 6 was starting and I was pretty much dead by now, it was hang on or hang it out for the rest of the race. So I tried to block out the sore gut and just closed my eyes for a while and tried to draw on anything I had left. At this stage I was in about 75th according to Tim O who was calling out our placings and I was pissed of that I had let myself slip in the previous lap. Once I got through the mud, there was about a mile to go and I just started to kick. Every time I felt myself slowing I would kick again and try to get more pace out of the legs. I started to pick a few off and there were a few patches of guys ahead that I could try to take out. I was pretty much out of kicks with about 500m to go, but I heard the Swiss Distance coach (Fritz) yelling `Hop Hop`` to his Swiss guy who was coming at me. There was no way I was gonna get nipped at the finish by the only Swiss runner in the whole meet, so I dug in one more time and sprinted my arse off. I rounded the final corner and had about 100m to go, I knew this Swiss bloke was on my hammer and there were two more spots I could snag so I held my kick, with legs going all over the place to get me to the line in a final time of about 35min and 30sec.
I was spent at the end and had to hang onto a fence to hold me up before I could move my legs again. I was probably there for about 2 minutes before I could muster up the energy to move and then the legs felt like I was a baby giraffe walking for the first time. I had 15mm spikes in so had to lift my legs, and even this was an effort and was tripping over myself to get back to the Aussie tent.
So I think looking back now at the race, it was quite a battle out there. I was never really comfortable at all, so that must mean I was always pushing and on my limit, which is what I wanted. When I finished the tank was completely empty so at least I know I left nothing out on the course. I had a personal goal to run top 50, and I know that I was capable of that if I got it all right on the day of the race. I am a decent cross country runner and have been doing it since I was 10 years old, so know the feeling of running over the uneven ground. The sessions we did out at Hawthorn gave me the confidence that I could run all day at 3min per km and that would have given me about 60th place I think. The field was so, so deep and the course was my first experience I have had of European type cross country courses. This made the race even more of a challenge but at least I have experienced a World Cross now and I will be ready next time to move up 20 or so places AT LEAST!! It will help me once I am fully recovered with London I am sure, because the road will be flat and I can get into a rhythm and roll.
So now time to recover, absorb it and get ready to drop a bomb in the streets of London. I am ready for it!!!! Bring it on.
The weather and conditions on race day where not too bad, probably about 10 degrees, a slight cold wind but once we did a warm up and everything it was fine. If you where standing around watching the race, you would have needed a fair few layers though I guess.
I warmed up with the Aussie and NZ team, repping the Down Under ANZAC spirit!!! and tried to just take it like a normal warm up, so basically just giving shit to each other, mainly Shauny!! That kept us all relaxed as we knew what was about to go down when that gun went. I was a bit nervous, but not cause I was worried how I would go, I knew I was fit and that the body was strong, but knowing that it was going to be tough from the gun, with no let up until the finish line.
The plan was always to go out hard, as there was about 150m until the course narrowed right down and then hit a mud patch of about 30 metres, I knew I had to be in a decent spot so I didn’t get thrown out the back, pushed off balance or hit the mud and stop. The tips I had been given by others that had raced World Cross before and from the memories of the junior race in Dublin of few years back, I knew the start pace needed to be real quick!
I was on the front row of our little fenced off section and had Collis on one side of me and Mo Farah from Great Britain on the other. Each country had to try and jam all their runners into a small little start box with two across. We had a middle box, so knew we were going to be flooded with Africans when the course narrowed down. The elbows where up and sharpened and off we went.
Collis and I went off hard, probably doing a 29sec spilt for the first 200m, and he was up in about 20th spot when we hit the mud, I was only about 5 metres back, but about 15 spots difference as I was in an African stampede. I had to keep the eyes down to negotiate the mud section and when I looked up there was only about 4 other white boys around me, so I knew I had nailed the start!
I tried to just stick with Collis for the first lap and kept him just a couple of metres in front as we rolled the first lap in a lazy 5.40 (2.50/km). This was as I was being knocked around by people that were flooding past me or I was getting around, and I hoped that we would settle down after the first lap. I tried but the rest of them didn’t.
So hitting the muddiest section for the second time I tried to just focus on picking my line and staying upright to start with. The rest of the lap I think I finally caught my breath and tried to find a rhythm as I rolled most of the next lap alongside Collis. I never could really relax and just get rolling as I was either jumping a log hurdle, dealing with all the turns (it had about the same twists as that old Yarra Bend Relays loop), or getting through the mud. Along with that I had people going by me, others bonking and people on the sidelines going mental!
By lap 3, halfway Liam had gotten past me, and I tried to pick up and go with him, but he was moving across the ground pretty well. I had settled into about 60th place and tried not to lose too many spots over the next two laps. I managed to do this, and just as I managed to move up a placing, some other guy would get past me, so the progress was slow. I knew that if I just got through the next couple of laps, I might be able to use my marathon based training to grind out the last 4 km and take some scalps to get me closer to the top 50.
I got around to the start of lap 5 and hit a bit of a rough patch, as I felt a bit of a stomach cramp building up, that meant the breathing became a bit shallow and as a result I lost a bit of my momentum and some placings in that lap. I reckon it came on from all the focusing and never being able to settle so I was working harder than I should have. Not sure but a bit frustrating. So finally lap 6 was starting and I was pretty much dead by now, it was hang on or hang it out for the rest of the race. So I tried to block out the sore gut and just closed my eyes for a while and tried to draw on anything I had left. At this stage I was in about 75th according to Tim O who was calling out our placings and I was pissed of that I had let myself slip in the previous lap. Once I got through the mud, there was about a mile to go and I just started to kick. Every time I felt myself slowing I would kick again and try to get more pace out of the legs. I started to pick a few off and there were a few patches of guys ahead that I could try to take out. I was pretty much out of kicks with about 500m to go, but I heard the Swiss Distance coach (Fritz) yelling `Hop Hop`` to his Swiss guy who was coming at me. There was no way I was gonna get nipped at the finish by the only Swiss runner in the whole meet, so I dug in one more time and sprinted my arse off. I rounded the final corner and had about 100m to go, I knew this Swiss bloke was on my hammer and there were two more spots I could snag so I held my kick, with legs going all over the place to get me to the line in a final time of about 35min and 30sec.
I was spent at the end and had to hang onto a fence to hold me up before I could move my legs again. I was probably there for about 2 minutes before I could muster up the energy to move and then the legs felt like I was a baby giraffe walking for the first time. I had 15mm spikes in so had to lift my legs, and even this was an effort and was tripping over myself to get back to the Aussie tent.
So I think looking back now at the race, it was quite a battle out there. I was never really comfortable at all, so that must mean I was always pushing and on my limit, which is what I wanted. When I finished the tank was completely empty so at least I know I left nothing out on the course. I had a personal goal to run top 50, and I know that I was capable of that if I got it all right on the day of the race. I am a decent cross country runner and have been doing it since I was 10 years old, so know the feeling of running over the uneven ground. The sessions we did out at Hawthorn gave me the confidence that I could run all day at 3min per km and that would have given me about 60th place I think. The field was so, so deep and the course was my first experience I have had of European type cross country courses. This made the race even more of a challenge but at least I have experienced a World Cross now and I will be ready next time to move up 20 or so places AT LEAST!! It will help me once I am fully recovered with London I am sure, because the road will be flat and I can get into a rhythm and roll.
So now time to recover, absorb it and get ready to drop a bomb in the streets of London. I am ready for it!!!! Bring it on.
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