SW Squad - long Sunday

Fronted up to participate in my first serious Sunday long run with the SW quad. Arrived at Centennial Park, the gates nearest Fox Studios, just before 7:30am on a clear, cool morning.

Easy Tiger and brightshoes were already there, so I did two laps of the nearby oval to warm up. The bulk of the squad turned up fairly shortly, and we were away.

The session is basically made up of sections of between 10-20 minutes, where runners can opt to hang back with the back, or surge, depending on how they feel, and then run a small loop at a catch up point whilst the rest of the group catches up. It's a bit different, but I quite like the set up.

I didn't feel great from the onset with a few digestive discomforts through the run. The pace was pretty solid, slipping down to 4:26 per km as we went past an hour. I felt I was battling to hang on here, but after making a bit of a pit stop to alleviate the aforementioned discomfort, joined up with SW and Easy Tiger for a couple of loops of the park we use for Thursday night speed work. Easy Tiger headed off and I had the last 45-50 minutes to myself. I did an outer loop of Centennial Park, and made it a point not to go backwards pacewise. I did feel much better after the stop, though, and actually felt sort of decent, managing to hold on for 29.38km in 2h10, at 4:26 per km pace, ave HR 131,.

Session was all on grass and I can feel the difference already, only an hour and a half after stopping - no impact soreness in the lower legs. Recovery tomorrow should be interesting.

The run was hard work, which I guess is the point.

I've managed to hook the plot into Google Earth, so here's a map of the run!


Ended up with 444km for the month, another record, and third month in a row over 400km. Would have been around 460 but for the missed day on July 11, that said I know I did the right thing missing that run, as the hip is much improved.

Highlight of the month was definitely the Homebush 10k that got me the preferred start.

A 5k PB, but....

Up at about 6:20am and I wasn't feeling overly fantastic. Didn't sleep particularly well and wasn't quite 100% in the stomach.

Dropped EliseS off at the start and parked at UTS Rowers so I could get a warm up. Set off from there just after 6:50am, and had the pleasure of Luke Skyrunner and his little bloke through a 3.7km jog in 18:26 (ave HR 128).

Caught up with a few people before setting off with the 17 min group, which included Boof, Fats, Uncle Dave, Sparkie and Action. Splits were as follows:
1k - 3:26
3k (forgot the 2k mark) - 7:11 for 2km
4k - 3:36
5k - 3:34
...giving 17:46 for the 5k, a 12 sec PB (ave HR 168, at 176-178 over the last two km). Felt my effort level was very good, but my upper legs seemed dead - I tried from about the 1.5k mark to move into a longer, more quad driven stride, but was conscious I was slowing down everytime I did it, so felt I did the bulk of the run on high turnover. Might still be carrying a bit from the week.

Bit disappointed with that - I felt I was on to at least get under 17:30. I guess when you're on a run of success it's probably good to get a bit of a 'jolt' like this from time to time, to remind you that it's not all easy, and that you need to keep working hard to make improvements.

In terms of the run itself, Action fell off the back straight away (as he predicted), and I held station behind Sparkie and Uncle Dave as Fats and Boof disappeared into the distance. I managed to ease past Sparkie just after the 3k mark, and was gently catching Unc up until about 4k (he had a bit of a look around to see who was behind him just before we went under the Lilyfield Rd overpass, which lifted the spirts a bit) when he lit up the afterburners and went. Impressive return.

Jogged 5.06k back to the start in 25:17 (ave HR 126) to finish the morning off and have brekkie at Brett Park, ably handled by Aunty Karin and Truckie.

EliseS enjoyed a big PB this morning, finding over 2 minutes off her PB for a 39:09, ably assisted by The Owl. She was, quite rightly, feeling very pleased with herself. Since joining Run Club and enlisting the help of a dietician, she has been working very hard, consistently getting out for her walks during the week, attending Run Club and taking freespirittraining's advice on technique, exercise and diet, and focussing on getting her eating habits right. Her running will continue to improve in leaps and bounds as her weight, strength and fitness improves, and I think she'll be giving the 30 minute runners a big hurry up before the year's out.

Diet and exercise - who'da thunk it?

A cruisin' Friday night

Totally couldn't get up when the alarm went at 5:40am this morning, so an evening run it was.

I had the car today, so dropped the car at the Gladesville Ferry stop for EliseS to pick up. Hit the road at about 5:30pm. Felt a little stiff through the first 500 metres but seemed to flow okay from there, heading north through Huntley's Point, up across the Tarban Creek bridge and into Hunter's Hill, turning back and retracing my steps at the little park just next to the hospital there. From the ferry stop it was up to Victoria Road, east to the pedestrian bridge, and then set sail west along Victoria Road for home.

Made a point of ignoring the watch and just running relaxed, so it was a bit of a surprise to hit Victoria Road and see the pace at 4:40 per km.

I was a little under time going past home, so ran up and back, putting myself over time. Oops.

Ended up at 6.5km in 30:24 (4:41 per km pace), ave HR 126.

CR 5k challenge tomorrow. Feeling reasonably good at the moment, so should be on for a pretty big PB. Sub 17:20 would be nice, as that would suggest a 10k time of 36 flat, according to McMillans.

Thursday steady state, and a new toy debuts

It was with much pleasure that I popped over to the Gladesville Post Office this morning and picked up my new toy, a Garmin 301. I do have a 201, which will be passed on to EliseS, but wanted a 301 for the heart rate function. I don't put a lot of faith in training to HRM, and won't be using it to decide training, but rather it appeals to my analytical side to see what the ol' ticker's up to.

Nice clear night again, with tonight's session being a straight out 4k, a 5 min jog, then a straight out 3k. Wasn't feeling fantastic - legs were a bit beaten up, and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm battling a cold. After a 4.13k warm up in 19:42 (ave HR 125) and some distinctly unenthusiastic drills went:

3	36
3	41
3	39
3	37

For a 14:33 4k (ave HR 162). Had a bit of a doze on the second lap down the back straight, then snapped out of it with a bit of a race with another bloke there. Five minute jog, then:

3	37
3	44
3	43

For an 11:05 3k (ave HR 168). Pace went out of the legs at the end of the first lap, and it was all I could do to hang on for the third lap. Even the motivation of chasing my 'nemesis' Gary wasn't enough to drag me through.

Did feel my form was a bit better tonight though, seeminly maintaining a mid-foot strike rather than the heel biased shuffle I seem to lapse into when I'm shot.

Actually, just looking through the diary, seems I actually did this session back in the first week of July, managing 14:45 for the 4k, and 11:12 for the 3k, so considering I felt like rubbish I probably shouldn't complain about the 19 second improvement!

Rounded the session off with a 3k jog and chat with Mohammed in 15:35, ave HR 129. I'll endeavour to check the resting HR in the coming days.

Glad I checked the diary - suddenly I feel a lot better!

The vagaries of GPS

Up at 6am, and on the road about 10 minutes later to tackle the same longer route to work I ran last week. Nice clear cool morning.

I was still pretty stiff in the upper legs and hips, and was having one of those mornings where the moment I was distracted I seemed to revert back to 4:50 per km pace. I managed to remain focussed enough to arrive at the bottom of the Lilyfield Road hill at about 4:38 per km pace (after waving to queen bee and Monty) and hit town at about 4:40 pace.

Hit the Harbour Bridge, after some getting some odd dropouts in the GPS, and saw the pace had dropped back to 4:53 per km according to the Garmin. I thought I'd gone okay through that section, so that seemed a bit odd. Saw expozay on the bridge.

Turned up in St Leonards after a diabolical run with the lights along the Pacific Highway (including a woman in old Camry wagon who drove right through the middle of a zebra crossing whilst I was right in the middle of it - I was wearing a CR t-shirt so I don't how she can't have seen me) in 1:36:16, 2:36 slower than last week. Never felt particularly fantastic through the run, and suspect I might be fighting off a bit of a lurgy - I was a bit snuffly.

GPS read 19.54km compared to 20.64km last week. I definitely lost distance through the CBD. Might drag out the electronic UBD and do some plotting tonight. A plot of the course is below:


Did another stability session at the gym. Core muscles were fine, but the push-ups were a joke.

Recovery part II, and some good news in the post

Particularly tired this morning, so another evening run (45 mins of recovery) it was. Quite sore in the hips from the lunges yesterday, too, and didn't feel fantastic in the afternoon after a pretty ordinary day from an eating point of view. Fell asleep in the bus on the way home after walking from St Leonards to Lane Cove after work.

Arrived home to find a letter from the City 2 Surf confirming my preferred start! That lifted spirits considerably, although bed was looking a far more enticing prospect than the battered Kayanos I dutifully retreived from under it.

Hit the road, heading east along Victoria Road and made a point of not looking at the watch. I had preprogrammed in the turnaround alarm, which came up a bit later in Hunter's Hill than I expected. I seemed to be rolling along okay if a little unenthusiastically, and made it home in 45:22 (even splits tonight) for 9.56k, in 4:45 per km pace. Run loosed the hips up a bit.

I'll tackle the new route to work via the Bay Run again tomorrow, but am not expecting miracles, and will also tackle the core stability hitout again as well. It never ends.

Core stability, and cruising on a Monday night

Schedule called for an easy 30 minutes, and I had intentions of doing it this morning. Alarm went for EliseS to do her walk, but I couldn't get up. So the evening it was...

I finally got around to starting core stability exercises. SW had provided a quite detailed list of exercises, two thirds of which I'd not heard of. Did some web research in the morning, and stumbed across the Brisbane Boy's College Cross Country Stability Training program, which had most of the exercises plus diagrams and descriptions, so I decided to follow it. Got a good short little session at lunch, and will build on that in the coming weeks.

Got home, and headed out at 5:45pm into a quite mild Sydney evening. I set the Garmin to go off at 15:20 as a signal to turn around (I always negative split) and made a point of just running on feel rather than to the watch.

Evidently I felt okay, as I sailed some distance past the 3k mark of my regular run with no sign of the alarm. Checked it and still had 30 seconds until it went. Got to the turnaround, and again just settled into a rhythm that felt relaxed and comfortable. The 2100s, which I've not been sure of, felt like slippers with great stability. Got home in 30:02, covering 6.54km in 4:36 per km pace. Never pushed, just focussed on good form and being relaxed. A little residual stiffness in the quads from Sunday, but that was never a factor.

Sutherland to Surf

Up at the alarm at 6 for the customary strong cup of coffee and two bits of toast with honey. Pottered around home until a bit after 7, and cruised over to Miranda. I formulated a bit of a plan during the week to park there, jog the 4k from there to the start as a warm up, do the race, and then jog the 7k back to the car as a cool down.

Parked near the soccer grounds at Seymour Shaw Park and jogged 4.14km in 19:39 to the start. Legs felt pretty good during the warm up, and I had a great time joking around with the police,volunteers, fellow spectators and entrants ("you're going the wrong way", drinks offered from water stations, etc, thanking the police for clearing the road for my warm up, etc) and by the time I turned up at the start I had a bit of a grin on the dial. I turned up right as the walkers were starting, and was slightly intimidated to see a fall in the wheelchair brigade at the start of the walkers' event! Jeez, if they were that serious in the walk, how was the race start going to be?!?

Caught up with most of the usual suspects at the start, although we were probably a touch further back than I would have liked.

I wasn't nervous at the start. I only had a vague notion of what time to expect, and thought sub 41 might be respectable, with sub 40:30 a nice number. Alja (a guy who ran a 2:18 marathon in the mid '80s) at SW's squad said sub 40 should be possible, not to be too scared of the splits through 4km, and be wary of the hills at 7.5k and in the last kilometre or so. Decided to keep it simple - concentrate on good rhythm and form through the opening downhills, don't do anything stupid up the hills, and only push into breathlessness in the last kilometre.

The start was pretty ordinary, with a wall of people shuffling away, and I had to resort to ducking and weaving, eventally making my way over to the footpath to make headway through the slow starting field. After about the first km, which I think I got through in around 3:40, the runners had broken up enough to see who was up ahead. I could make out Action and Andrew G, with Springer just ahead of them, and decided to set after them. Picked up Blue Dog at around 2k, and we were under 3:30 per km pace here, and made comment I was a little surprised to see him up here. Had a little duel with Aimhigh, seeing him off at around 4k or so, and had a good little duel with another Strider, Richard Green which toed me through to get Luke Skyrunner just out of Caringbah.

I finally got Action coming through the shops at Cronulla about 10k, and picked up Andrew T coming out of Elouera Rd, trying to drag him along to help me run down Springer. I really started to push here, and thought I was a really good chance to get him.

Not to be though. WHO put those last two hills there? The first one was bad enough, but the second hidden one was a shocker. I hit the downhill right hander completely anaerobic, and with the finish so close I simply had to put the hammer down and go to the finish, lest Andrew T or Action come by. Paid off though, sneaking in under 39 minutes for a 38:58. Garmin read 11.02km - the course seems to be pretty accurately marked, with the kilometre markers close to the Garmin's readings, and consistent.

Map drawn via Sport Tracks and Google Earth

Rapt with the time, and felt I put in a good consistent effort through the whole run, with smart efforts on the uphills. For the first 3k I didn't think I was making ground on Action, Andrew T and Luke Skyrunner, but coming off the first uphill I made quite good inroads which lifted the spirits. This bodes well for the City to Surf in three weeks time - a good 'baffle' clearer, if you will

Jogged the 7.12km to Miranda with O Runner at a conversational pace, knocking the cool down over in 36:45, making for a good morning.

102km for the week, and 343km for the month to date. Some pretty good quality in there as well with two good speed sessions and a strong race. Things are going along nicely at the moment - I should definitely slide under 52 mins at C2S, and the hammie and hip were none-issues today.

Shuffle around the Bay

Program called for an easy half hour this morning. EliseS suggested the Bay Run, which seemed a reasonable idea.

Got down there just after 8am on a brisk, clear morning. Started near Timbrell Park, and felt pretty ordinary, stiff, junky and shuffly. Ignored the watch and plodded around anti-clockwise.

Got a bit of a surprise to get to the finish and see 7.08km in 33:15, giving 4:42 per km pace, which felt distinctly flattering.

Didn't see any Coolrunners out there, and the walkers seemed to be moving in packs, blocking the path in a number of places and scowling when politely requested to make a little room.

Dark, cool and early

Sometimes I amaze even myself. Set the alarm for 5:20am, mostly for EliseS who wanted to walk first thing, but since I was late to bed (by my admittedly mediocre standards) I didn't bother laying clothes out.

The alarm went at 5:20 and EliseS murmured she couldn't get up. I flicked the alarm over to 6:20am and rolled over to go back to sleep - and didn't. I got up...

After stumbling around getting dressed, got out just after 5:30am and pushed through 10.32km in 50:12. I felt pretty beaten up through much of the run, but seemed to come reasonably good over the last 3-4km. Feel a lot better for having run it, especially since I'll have a nice cosy night on my arse in front of the cricket on the TV.

Thursday - What would you call this session?

Another good run on public transport saw me arrive at Centennial Park at about 5:45. Got changed and hit the track for my warm up with a group of five, including Serge, Easy Tiger, Gary and Serge's father. We barrelled around 4.17km in 18:46.

I didn't feel particularly enthusiastic through the strides and drills, and had felt a little 'short of breath' all day - like I wanted to yawn. I seem to get this from time to time if I've been training hard, and it is a little fatiguing.

Planned session was 4k, a 6 min jog, and then 1k - it would normally have been 3k for the second session, but with the Sutherland to Surf on Sunday I had an easier session. I was looking for sub 10k pace for the first 4, and then something under 3:30 pace for the solo km.

Managed to get through the four in 14:18, with splits of 3:35, 3:34, 3:35 and 3:33. Nice and consistent, with a little extra effort at the end of the fourth lap. Felt I could have done another kilometre at that pace, which would have been just under my 17:58 5k PB. Pretty pleased with that.

Had a gentle little 5 minute jog, and then came to the last kilometre feeling a bit fired up. I got out hard early to ensure a clean run, and then duelled with Brightshoes (who, it should be remembered, was doing 3km) over the back half of the kilometre. I was able to put a bit of a surge on to beat him and run a 3:24.

Jogged through a gentle 3.38km in 18:52 (which was mostly chatting) to finish the session.

Another good quality speed session. I still don't have a significant kick, but basic pace is definitely coming along very well. I felt quite controlled through the four km part of the session.

Two easy days coming up, and then the Sutherland to Surf, which promises to be interesting, and fast.

Ever wondered what 800km does to a pair of shoes?

Asics Kayano XIs - brand new (0kms) versus 800kms, and it's worth noting the old ones had a run through the washing machine at the 400km mark:

Also worth noting the old shoes, despite the worn soles, weigh about 4 grams heavier each than the new ones...

Pushing hard on a Wednesday

Made a couple of little changes to the Wednesday 90 minute run - made a bit of an effort to bring everything I could to work on Tuesday, so I could run with just a bumbag (with phone, wallet and keys - been hating running with the backpack), and decided to alter the route a bit to incorporate the Bay Run to ensure I get some good flat solid pace..

Left home at about 6:35am, heading east along Victoria Road to Drummyone, and under the Iron Cove Bridge to hook into the Bay Run. Followed it around to Lilyfield Road, tackled the hill and followed Lilyfield Road all the way through to the pedestrian bridge over Victoria Road at Rozelle. Straight over the Anzac Bridge, through Pyrmont and into the city, over the Harbour Bridge and up the Pacific Highway through North Sydney into St Leonards.

Pace took a little while to come, and I was never really free of feeling a bit heavy legged. Still, I was at about 4:30 per km pace at the bottom of the Lilyfield Road, and managed to hold to 4:32 pace for the run, which went a bit over 90 minutes to finish at 1:33:40, covering 20.64km. Pleasing hitout, especially since I never really felt great throughout the run.

6 x 800 again

Tonight saw a repeat of the 6 x 800 session run a fortnight ago, allowing a direct comparison to establish progress.

Got through a 4.3k warm up in 18:56 in cool, clear conditions - felt a bit fast, and deliberately slowed it over the last km or so, but felt a bit flat through my strides and drills.

After discussions with Mister G during the day, carried the thought of 2:44 in my head for the first rep, just wanting to focus on good form. Session went as follows:

2	39
2	41
2	40
2	39
2	38
2	39

I battled from about the 600 metre mark of the 5th rep, and it was all I could do to hold on through the last. Average for the session was 2:39.3, versus 2:43.7 a fortnight ago, with a much tighter spread of reps. I felt pace over the first four and a half reps was coming from a good combination of quality form and turnover, which was pleasing. Very breathless after the last rep - I've no doubt pushing the boundaries on the cardio side repeatedly is doing my aerobic fitness no end of good.

Pushed through a 4k cool down in 19:42 before hitching a lift with Easy Tiger back to Central Station.

Good session - although still fairly consistently last, the group is edging closer and closer...

A good Monday night

I've pretty well given up on running first thing Monday mornings, figuring it's a good chance to catch up on sleep - don't tend to stay up late on Sunday nights.

Legs felt a little stiff through most of the day - sitting at a desk on the day after a long run really isn't good for us long distance runners - and I was a little wary of how I'd feel when I hit the road a bit after 6pm.

Strapped my tired old Kayanos on and headed out the door, and felt pretty good. SW has prescribed 16k for these 1h10m Monday night workouts, which has proved optimistic. Once I realised I felt pretty good, I thought I'd take a bit of a shot at it, the planned route heading east along Victoria Rd from Gladesvill, hook into the Drummoyne end of the Bay Run at Rowers, follow it around, over the Iron Cove Bridge, and then back home west along Victoria Road.

Getting over the bridge and through Drummoyne, pace was about 4:30 per k as I hit the Bay Run. It came down pretty quickly through the first couple of k of the CR 5k course, and by the time I hit the stairs of the Iron Cove Bridge it was 4:20. Dropped a couple of seconds through Drummyone, and was out to 4:26 by the time I managed the hard climb west over the Gladesville Bridge. Ran it out to hit home, and 15:83km in 1h10m, for 4:25 per km.

Surprisingly good, strong hit out, with no sign of the hip or hamstring. Blister on the left foot - well, it was well protected...

C2S Preview

Met up with Action, Luke Skyrunner, Boof and Springer at the C2S start at 6:30am for a combined long run and City 2 Surf course preview. Conditions were cool and clear with a bit of wind about, although we were sheltered from it through the first half of the run

No sign of our other attendees, so we set off at 6:35am, covering the course in 65:44 in a solid, amiable hit out. I got 14.05km on the Garmin, and a map with elevations is attached.

I've also done a plot via Google Earth - the elevation data isn't great, but it gives a decent enough idea of the lay of the course.

The profile of Heartbreak is interesting - it should be noted that we didn't take the racing line through there. but it definitely shows a couple of distinct rest sections partway through the hill.

The wind was quite apparent once we got on the other side of the ridge there.

Stopped in Bondi for a toilet break, and made our way back to the start via Bondi Junction at pretty solid pace, and then a twenty minute or so jog around the Domain to wind down, making the morning's effort 25.5k in 1:58:49, giving me 91k for the week. Would have been around 105 for the week had I not lost Monday, but I think it was a good call to take that day off.

A little residual stiffness after yesterday, but that was fine after the first few kilometres, and the hip was fine bar the fast downhill through Oxford Street where I was aware of it - didn't slow me down though. The orthotic in my left shoe moved a bit on the second part of the run, and there's a fairly sizeable blister on the arch of my left foot. I'll live.

NSW Short Course XC - Mt Penang

Arrived up at the Mt Penang venue at about 1:50pm with Amjan after a spectacular display of lateness and poor direction-finding.

Got through a 2km warm up keeping an eye on the women's race, and managed some stretches and strides. The course was literally mown into a paddock, with spongey surface, meandering about the place, with a westerly wind into your face on all the downhills.

Hadn't thought too much about an expected time for today, other than to try for under 30 minutes, and hopefully keep Action at bay.

Gun went off, and I deliberately took it pretty easily through the first kilometre - there were two falls before we even got to the first corner. The field started to lean out a little and I started to wind into pace, the surface and the meandering nature of the course making it difficult to stretch out and find a rhythm. Felt okay, although not what I'd call fast.

Caught up to Action a bit after the 1km mark and nearly fell on an uneven section. From there, it was a matter of keeping a steady pace. CR 'Big Daddy' said G'day, as did Easy Tiger, who I was destined to follow home after he picked me up on the third lap. Managed to hold Action off, although not sure of the final margin, might have been 5 seconds.

Laps went 9:54, 9:55 (first two an estimate, as I didn't hit the lap button for a while) and 10:02 for the last. I think I lost the time just at the start of the third lap where I had a fair dose of nausea and reflux that came out of nowhere.

Hamstring was a bit niggly through the first kilometre but disappeared after that, and no sign of the hip until the walk back to the car.

Jogged through an easy lap with Action and Glenn (who won, congrats!) to cool down. The Men's Open team managed a third place (no thanks to Action and I!), and the Women's a second, so another good high profile result for the club.

A good afternoon's enterainment, but I must get better organised next time...

The Friday shuffle

Up at 5:45am and on the road 5 mins later for 6.05k in 30 minutes in cool clear conditions. Very slow initially - hi to whoever it was that beeped - with the legs just feeling dead. Seemed to come half good about 4k in, but glad to get it done. Hip was a little sharp in places - much like someone had stuck pins in it the day before. Funny, that.

A short fartlek Thursday

I had vague aspirations of cruising a half hour this morning (not on the program), but getting home around midnight from the Finn Brothers concert at the Opera House put paid to that. I had a 6:15am appointment with Martin Horne which involved some acupuncture and a manipulation, giving some improvement in the hip.

Turned up at Centennial Park a bit before 6pm, got through a 4.1k warm up in 19:36, and went through the usual pre-session drills.

With races up at Mt Penang on Saturday, it was only a 3k fartlek session, and I had a hazy target of sniffing around 3:30 per km pace. Didn't feel flash through the warm up, but felt a bit sharper through the drills.

Got through the laps in 3:36, 3:32 and 3:27 for 10:36 (rounding error). Didn't really flog it through the nominated 'easy' areas of the laps, so seem to be generating a bit more speed, which is pleasing. Wasn't 'smashed' at the end, and could probably have put out another sub 3:30 pace lap. Quite pleasing - reckon I'd definitely be on for around 17:30 or better for 5k.

Worked through a 3k cooldown in just over 16 minutes, before heading off, taking advantage of the early finish to catch a decent portion of the stretch session at freespirittraining's Run Club with EliseS.

Tour of the North Shore

Up at 6:20am to the sound of rain, and since I had the car this morning, drove to St Leonards to secure a half decent park and hit the road at around 6:50am near the Fitness First. The rain had pretty well cleared on the drive over, although it was certainly cool enough to justify the long sleeve shirt I was wearing.

Headed north rather than south this morning, for a bit of variety, and toured through Artarmon, Chatswood, Northbridge, Cammeray, Crows Nest, North Sydney, and around the back of Wollstonecraft. Pace was around 4:45 per km until I hit Wollstonecraft, where the hills knocked the pace down a bit. Total run was 18.58km in 90 minutes flat.

I was pretty stiff to begin with, and never really felt loose at any stage. I was aware of the hip through the run but it was better than it was around the relative flat of Centennial Park on Sunday, so the improvement is encouraging. Hamstring is 100%.

Ran in my 'new' 2100s again this morning, but this time with my Horned orthotics. Made quite a difference to the show, with a definite improvement in control.

Tuesday late shift

Usual battle with public transport went pretty well, and I arrive at Kensington a couple of minutes before 6. Got changed and worked through a 4.31km warm up in 19:11, working up to some semblence of speed reasonable easily. Hip was a little grumbly, no sign of the hamstring.

After some stretching and drills, it was down to business, with the group smaller than usual. Times were as follows (well, near enough - they were all 1:17's and 18's):

1	17
1	18
1	18
1	18
1	17
1	18
1	17
1	18
1	18

SW pulled a cracker on us with the last rep - it was in the book at 8 x 400, but he decided to push us through one more rep. I thought I was well smashed after 8, but somehow managed to drag out another one at 1:18. Good even times, and I was able to hang on at the end with reasonable form. Would have been nice to kick on and find a second or two on the last reps, but it looks like I'm finding a rhythm.

Haven't really got any comparable sessions - the last 400 session I did was 12 x 400 at the end of June, where after a 1:18, times were between 1:19 and 1:24 with an average of 1:21.4 vs an average of 1:17.7 , so it's hard to say what the average would have been tonight - most likely under 1:20. Felt a lot more in control, tonight, though, and it was a good session. Hip was a little bit of an niggle, but nothing too serious - it was on the flat, though, and it's mostly hills that worry it.

I've also picked up a good natured rival in the squad - the fellow from Sunday, Gary, whose goals are pretty similar to mine, and we seem pretty close in the repeats, although he kicked away a little in the last three, finding a second or two on me in each there. His marathon PB is from Canberra '04 where he did 2:57, and from the sounds of things has been in the frame to run around 2:50 twice in the last 6 months or so but has had injury issues, which he's on the way back from now. Gradually learning names and faces, so I'm working my way in.

Finished with a gentle 2.87 cool down in 14:11 chatting to fellow CR Easy Tiger, to round off a good night.

Tuesday early shift

Up at 5:35am to shuffle through an easy 40 mins. Bit apprehensive about the hip and hamstring, and both a dose of Goanna Heat Cream before I ducked out into a crisp, clear, still morning.

Hamstring was fine, but the hip had its moments. Uphills seem to upset it a bit, suggesting to me that it seems to be when the quad stretches out is when the hip gets pulled on. It's around the side, to suggest it's the gluteus maximus rather than the medeus.

It's livable, although tonight's speed session might test it a bit. Legs were otherwise fine, and appreciative of the rest day. 8.17k in 40:32.

A cautionary day off

I was lined up for a 1 hour 10 hit out this evening, but during my walk from St Leonards to Lane Cove the right hip and left hammie were a little angry. Given the cool conditions, I've decided discretion to be the better part of valour and take the day off to protect them.

I have to do 40 minutes in the morning before tomorrow night's interval session, so I can do a reassessment then.

A Sunday most foul....well, fairly foul.

Awoke at 6:30 to the sound of strong wind and rain. Venturing outside the bedroom revealed it be cold, too. Feeling tired and fairly beaten up after yesterday, my first thoughts were 'oh joy'.

Elected to do the two hour run on no breakfast this morning. As mentioned earlier, I've made the decision to run with SW's long run squad on Sundays (although not next week as I'll be joining Action to run the C2S course). Hit Centennial Park at around 7:25, and there weren't many around - in fact, there was one or two around. I recognised one fellow (Gary, from the squad) but he was gone after I got changed.

CR Don Juan turned up, and it was about 7:45 by this point. We decided to run for 6 minutes and turn around, mostly to keep warm. We got back to the start, and picked up Gary, Liz and Byron, and started in wind and intermittant rain.

For the next hour or so Gary and Liz took us on a wondrous tour of the various internal informal paths in and around Centennial Park. Never felt fantastic during the run, with the hip causing some issues, and a lot of calf tightness early on, doubtless a result of the change of surface to grass and compacted dirt, made soft by the recent rain.


Ran for another half hour with Don Juan who headed home three quarters of the way through the lap, and did a short variation by myself to complete 24.8k in 2 hours flat. I was pretty tired at the but was able to maintain 4:50 per km pace or so in the last three quarters of an hour, although I was pretty damned hungry. I had one of EliseS's brownies in the bag which worked a treat at the finish, along with a bottle of Powerade.

101k for the week, and I felt it was pretty good quality, with two pretty decent speed sessions and some strong timed runs. It'll be interesting to see how I pull up tomorrow from doing the long run on grass - taking the impact out makes a big difference, although I suspect I'll have some soreness simply it takes more effort to run on grass (less energy return). The hip is a bit of a concern, but I'll get that looked at this week.

Why you don't drink the night before short races...

Woke on Saturday morning around 7:30 or so, fully aware of the CR drinks the previous night with a slightly disturbed stomach and a touch of a headache. EliseS had a personal training session so I lay in bed half awake until around 8:30, enjoying the lie in.

The stomach didn't clear, leaving me at Mutch Park at around 2:30pm Saturday afternoon after a fairly ordinary 1 mile warm up wondering if I could decent odds on me throwing up climbing the big hill on the third lap. Mister G and Amjan were racing as well, with Skizzik taking photos.

Photo courtesy of Mister G's Blogspot

The course wound its way through Mutch Park, starting next to the car park, running parallel to the exit road and then heading up alongside the footpath to the corner next to Bonnie Doon Golf Club, then ascending the big hill next to the golf course. You then descended the same hill, through some loose dirt, headed up into the north section of the park, winding between the trees and then heading back to the finish, with a little complex of corners near the finish with a nasty little climb and descent to the finish to complete the 2km loop. The race was 6k, so 3 loops it was.

Finished in 22:38, with laps of 7:30, 7:40 and 7:28. I probably got out a bit hot in the first lap, consolidated in the second and had enough in the last lap to push and make up a place - I passed another guy just before the finish but he had a huge kick down the hill to the finish line that I couldn't counter. Never felt great during the run, with my stomach playing up, plus other, uh, biological urges. Taking that into account, I was pretty happy with the run, and looking at times from previous events, it looked a solid hitout. Tough little course, with a fair bit of loose surface, weird cambers and quite a lot of tight turns making getting rhythm difficult.

Jogged through a 2km cool down with Mister G to finish off. Two little niggles at the moment - left hamstring, right up the top (only appears occasionally) and my right hip. Which reminds me, I'm due to see the Horned one again...

The Friday 6am Shuffle

With CR Drinks this evening, the choice was either run in the morning or run at lunchtime. I detest running around St Leonards, so the morning it was.

After a particularly restless night's sleep, forced myself up at about 5:45, dealt with the pets, got dressed and managed to get out the door at about 6. Felt pretty beaten up and pace was very slow in coming. Followed my usual route of heading east along Victoria Road down to Huntley's Point and back. I talked myself into rolling along a bit more actively from the 3k point onwards and finally started to feel half decent at about 4.5km, and finished pleased with the effort at 6.08km in 30 minutes flat.

The morning runs after speed sessions are tough.

Tempo Thursday

Well, I guess that's what you'd call it. Session called for 4k, a 6 minute jog recovery, then another 'eyes hanging out' 3k. Had a few things to do this evening after getting home, and tend to be a bit wound up after these evening speed sessions, hence the late update.

Got down there a little earlier than usual, after a dream run on public transport. Got through a 5.04km warm up in 25:31, and felt pretty flat, efforts from the last couple of days catching up no doubt. Got through some fairly unenthusiastic run throughs, and we were set to go. Target pace for the initial 4k was 10k pace (which is suddenly 3:39! Ay caramba!). Lap splits were (from memory:
3:40
3:45
3:43
3:37

That took a bit of recovery, and I only got about 4m30s of jogging to recover for the 3km all out. That didn't go quite as well - can't remember the splits, but mananged 11:12 for the distance, really didn't have a lot left, although I managed to get through what I thought was a decent last lap.

Still, to do the pace on soft, damp, fairly uneven grass is good. I have a feeling I crossed a bit of a mental barrier about pain in that last 4k on Saturday - I am starting to not fear pushing well into physical discomfort from speed. I think I have got it through my thick skull that the pain from running past your aerobic ability, the shortness of breath that makes you want to lie down and die at the end of a race or interval session, will pass and isn't actually going to kill me, and I'm becoming less afraid of pushing to that barrier.

Here's hoping that will actually help me run faster...

Jogged out a gentle 3.1km in 15:17 and got acquainted with some more members of the squad, including CR Serge and his very fast father. Gradually easing into the social side of the squad - contrary to popular belief, I am actually quite shy and awkward around new people. It's only when I get to know you that the true me comes out....(cue ominous music).

A slight change to the routine

Little bit of a change this morning, with EliseS in town, leaving me with the car. I also had an errand to run at lunchtime which required the car, so needed to get up early to get the programmed 90 minute run in as I couldn't run to work. The plan was to drive to St Leonards by around 6:30am, park and do the run then.

Alarm went at around 5:40am, and I was stuffed, with the legs stiff from last night. A couple of grabs at the snooze button later, and I was finally up. After some stuffing around, got out the door and arrived at St Leonards (near the tennis club) just before 6:30am.

I shuffled off into the cool and clear morning, and made my way over to the Pacific Highway, over the Harbour Bridge, down through to George Street and into Circular Quay. Did the loop around the Opera House, into the Domain and past Mrs Macquarie's Chair, past the cafe/pool (getting a good look at the USS Kitty Hawk), and then hit the 45m30s turnaround alarm, and made my way back. Quite a lot of runners out - anyone would think there was a big fun run on next month. Today also saw the debut of my new 2100's - they were fine, no problems with them, will have to try them with the orthotics in once they've got a few more km in them.

Never really felt good during the run, but was able to maintain reasonable pace once I'd warmed up and made a point of working hard on the uphills. Not the most physically pleasant of runs, but pleased I was able to maintain pace, particularly on the long drag up from Milsons Point through North Sydney to Crows Nest.

And the change of scenery was nice...

Finally, a half decent interval session

Down to Kensington for Tuesday night reps, on a cool, clear and still evening. SW wanted 6 x 800 - I had 7 x 800 in the planner, but wasn't going to argue.

Got through a 3.2km warm up in 14:53 and felt okay.

Had been thinking through the week about how I wanted to structure the session. I'd averaged around 2:47 for the 7 x 800 session back in mid July, so that seemed a good number to start the session off with. Got through the reps like so:

2	46
2	48
2	45
2	45
2	38
2	40

Worked on getting technique and form correct and consistent through the first four sets, and then worked on ramping up the speed. Very happy with the last two reps, although it would have been nice to have had the last one quicker again, but can't complain, and I did guts it out, which SW was pleased with (nowhere to hide when he's right at the finish line with that wretched watch). Ave rep time was 2:43.7.

Got through a 3k cool down in 13:43 to finish off.

Format alterations

Since I've decided to tart the blog up with some photos (and I'll go back through old entries and bang in pictures there as well) I decided to cut down the number of entries appearing on each page from 999 to 30 (roughly a month). Older entries are still available via the monthly archives on the right hand side.

I know a couple of you access the blog via dial-up, so cropping the number of entries per page should help your download times, particularly with photos going in.

Quick little test of the photo tool

Just thought I'd pop in a shot from the W2G from last week to test the new Blogger Photo tool, which would appear to work!

Actually, just on that sleep thing...

Just realised this afternoon that with the ramp up in training I seem to be developing an ability to grab very short naps. I had to head into town at lunch time to sign some legal paperwork. After grabbing a quick bit at the office, I snagged a train at St Leonards for the 12 minute trip to town, during which I managed to grab a quick little 5 minute snooze that actually refreshed me quite a bit. Thinking on it, during many bus and train trips in the last month I seem to have been doing the same. Interesting, as I was never previously one to nap.

Pushing a little harder

Again elected to take the sleep-in option (didn't get a whole lot over the weekend) and so it was an evening run again. Came up a touch stiff after the weekend activities, but incorporating the walk from Lane Cove to St Leonards in the morning and return in the cool clear evening seemed to help free the legs up.

Didn't end up hitting the road until about 6:40pm. After the weekend feeling a bit 'arced up' about my running, so decided to have a bit of a push closer to 4:30 per km pace. Didn't get off to the best of the starts when 650 metres down the road a familiar itch reminded me I'd neglected to tape my nipples. Too cold to run shirtless, too far to run tapeless. Back home, tape up, pick up where I left off (1.34km in 6:08).

Decided to test myself and headed east along Victoria Road, across the Gladesville Bridge, through Drummoyne and across the Iron Cove Bridge. Down the stairs, under the bridge and around the Bay Run (hi Run Clubbers!) until I hit Brent Street, where I headed up the hill to Lyons Road. Up Lyons Road, left at Victoria Road and west until home. Including the little diversion, 15.47km in 1 hour 10 minutes. Felt a good, strong run, pushing just a touch out of my week day comfort zone. Good hit out.

Ten Bridges Classic STaR

Bit difficult to get up this morning - I was kind of in zombie mode, stumbling around the place on auto-pilot until the coffee kicked in. Fortunately, the Ten Bridges starts about a 5 minute drive from my place, so leaving at 6 gave me a bit of time.

Had a pretty good social group this today, which helped pass the time on this cool, clear morning. Run basically went from Longueville, cut through the lower North Shore to Milsons Point, over the Harbour Bridge, through town into Pyrmont, over the Anzac Bridge and into Annandale, through Lilyfield to cut through the King Georges Oval section of the Bay Run, over the Iron Cove Bridge and through Drummoyne, over the Gladesville Bridge and through the back of Hunter's Hill (I cut this section out and just went straight up Burns Bay Road) and cut through Riverview back to the start.


Enthusiasm wasn't really there this morning although I was moving along okay, managing 26.7km in 2:08:41, a bit longer than the two hours in the program. Managed 101km for the week.

Next week is pretty similar, and goes:
Mon: 1h10m
Tue: 6x800 (1:45 jog between)
Wed: 1h30m
Thu: 4k @ 10k pace (6m jog recovery) 3k slightly quicker again
Fri: easy 30m
Sat: RBH 6k XC Mutch Park (race)
Sun: 2h (venue TBA)

SW rang me around lunch time yesterday to congratulate me on Saturday, and to continue Friday's suggestion about joining the squad for their Sunday long runs. I do enjoy the STaRs and the earlier start is convenient, but he made a very good point about their sessions being done on grass and that aiding my longetivity - something I've had in mind, having seen a number of Striders cop stress fractures. Food for thought. I might mix it up - say 2/3 SW sessions, 1/3 STaRs. We'll see.

The time is in the book...

...so all we need to do now is put the entry in and we're good to go. 36:28 according to the results.

Had a particularly ordinary night's sleep, not really settling until 1 or so before getting up at four for some toast and coffee, back to bed for an hour, then up, get ready and out the door to pick up 26miles and head over to Homebush.

Arriving early, got through 4k of warm up and was nervous to the point of near incoherence. Conditions were ideal, though - cool and still. The inner gravel section at Wentworth Common was mostly dry. Still hate that bit, no energy return, slippery, or you lose distance running on the tarmac.

Managed to snag a position right up the front - numbers were down a touch with many members at the Gold Coast Marathon events - and had the Garmin set to go off every 3m38s.

We started and there was the usual jostling of position. I elected to take the tarmac the first time around and we got through the first kilometre in around 3:42, which was ideal. I seemed to pick up pace from the downhill section that leads under the brudge through to the 5km mark. Turnover and stride were good, although I was certainly aware I was fairly close to my maximum. The field was a little thin - I was racing with a fellow who left me at the entrance to the Common, and I had periodic sightings of Ross Sinclair and Boof.

Second time around Wentworth Common I elected to take the gravel section. Got through 5km in 18 flat, which mentally raised an eyebrow - "I feel okay, but that might have been a bit quick". The small climb past the start/finish area put up a little caution light, and as I came out of the Common the legs signalled that given I was 2 seconds outside my 5k pb through 5, they were under the impression that we might have been doing 5 and not 10.

From there on they continued to signal their disapointment, and form started to suffer as I became a bit thrashy trying to maintain speed. Of course, this meant a higher heart rate, oxygen demands went up, and I started to suffer aerobically. Acknowledgements of fellow runners became grunts, teeth were gritted, and eyes were closed. The metronomic 3:38 alarm started to come before the kilometre markers, and by about the 8km marker my 10s buffer was gone. It was fairly lonely, too - I was pretty well by myself, with another fellow about 15-20s up the road and going away.

The emotions of the last two km were a mix of despair, desperation and periodically determination. I was very close to just packing it in, jogging out the last kilometre and taking the high 36, and actually fantasised about accepting the "well, you were close, but you got your PB, good effort". I couldn't let it go, though and flogged it through to the finish. I neglected to stop the watch until a few seconds after crossing the line, managing to stop it at 36:33, leaving doubt as to what the time was.

This coloured my mind a bit post-race, and I was on tenterhooks somewhat until the results came out late Saturday afternoon, showing 36:28. Two seconds under goal time. I guess I should be more pleased than I am, but the big positive split was indicative of how much I'd battled over the second half of the race, and I can't help wondering if 10s invested at the front might have been worth 20s at the back.

Still, it's done. I'm a mid-36's 10k runner now, and it looks like I get a sleep-in on August 14. The shift in my speed paradigm in the last two months is a little scary - suddenly I'm finishing up ahead of the Andrew T's and Coasters, when not long ago they weren't even in my mental picture.

Just wait until I'm 5-7kg lighter and have another couple of months of speedwork under the belt...

A pinch and a punch...

Didn't sleep particularly well last night, so despite EliseS getting up, I elected to sleep in. Skipped work about ten minutes before the bell, and did the usual Friday evening thing of parking the car at the ferry stop for EliseS to pick up, while I cruised out and do an easy 30 minutes.

Felt a little junky in the first couple of hundred metres, but was rolling well soon and got through the half hour well covering 6.28km. I was never under any strain and ticked along comfortably.

Very toey about tomorrow, but in a quite positive way. I don't have the "I secretly know I'm out of my depth" fear, more a "I think I can do this" nerves thing. I think I can pull out something special tomorrow, I just have to avoid doing something stupid early...