This week on the blog we catch up with Jason Stevens to hear all about his big PB at the Gold Coast Half Marathon. Jason signed up with Run2PB in early 2018 with the goal to break 20 minutes for 5km, now he is running that pace for a half marathon. We hope you enjoy reading about Jason's running journey.
How long you have been running and what do you love about running?
I’ve been running around 2 years now and been with Run2PB about 14 months, we started with the goal of a sub 20min 5km. I live and work in my own business, 7 days a week. Running takes me out the gate and lets me clear my head and plan the day, without distractions. I think clearer and am a better version of myself if I’ve been out for a run in the morning.
How did the GC Race pan out?
Very well! I said to coach Brady some time ago that my goal was to run even 4min kms, I averaged 4:00min exactly on the day. I went with the 1 hour and 24 min pacers who were keen to bank a little time as they knew we were going to have a decent head wind in the last few kilometres. Early in the race, 3:55K pace was feeling comfortable and I was nice and relaxed. We had a huge dump of rain on us on the way out which was a nice distraction, it was also cool to see the elites heading back down the other side of the road. I managed to keep an even pace until 3km to go when I really felt the head wind and I had no one around to work with. The 19th km was a 4:08 and the 20th a 4:13, luckily someone came past and help me push to the line with a 3:58 km to finish.
Did you feel confident that you could run a P.B?
100%. It had been 9 month of super consistent training since my last half marathon. Even with a couple of niggles along the way I knew the base was there.
Can you reflect on any specific sessions that you did in the build-up?
For sure! My last long run was 26km and left me feeling strong. Two days later I had a 3 x 4km reps session where I ran comfortably under 4:00min pace for each rep, then 3 days later I ran a 5km time trial as a rust buster pre Gold Coast and nailed a 25sec PB. That was one of the best weeks training I’ve ever done and I knew I was ready.
How do you manage to combine work, life and all the training? Did having an online coach assist you in any way around managing your time?
Having a supportive family has been the real key to this. I run in the mornings before work and usually I’ll get home and my wife has already feed the kids breakfast and packed their school bags. If I ever need to move workouts to different days the coach is only a message away and always keen to help.
How has Run2PB assisted your training and any feedback?
Having a coach has really helped me reach each PB goal. It’s the support after a bad session or when I’ve had a couple of niggles. Being able to increase training load safely using the knowledge of the coaches has been fantastic. This last build up was the most significant though. 3 months ago I wasn’t running because of a dodgy ankle. Once the physio gave me the OK to start increasing training mileage again, Brady safely built my training up to 100% over a 5 week period. We hit the Gold Coast with momentum and nailed the PB. I really like being able to see my training through the final surge app also.