Festivities Recovery/Recap

What a hectic couple of days!

Sunday (Xmas) - No way I was going to get a run in today with Santa calling in and 3 excited kids then hauling up to the in laws for a great seafood lunch and hoping in and out of the pool as required to combat the very warm day. This Christmas was designated by the wife as only 1 running related present allowed so I opted for a smaller Camelbak Altera to use for my longer training runs instead of a bottle bum bag that I have now. I did manage to score another running gift from my parents in the form of a Nike Electrolite (for when the days get shorter again...).

Monday (Boxing day) - Headed out for a medium/long style run early in the morning before my family arrived for Christmas II at our place. It was quite warm but a good hit out as well.

Stats 17.6km in 1:27:41 (avg pace 4:58)

Tuesday (#3 Birthday) - Again a day that it was going to be hard to get out for a run with our youngest's thirrd birthday. A early start followed by shopping/prep for afternoon tea that would stretch on into drinks etc, last guest leaving at around midnight. Had great fun playing Buzz and Singstar on the newish Playstation 2.

Wednesday - A little dusty after the night before and prefered the lounge for extended periods after the busy last few days rather than lacing up the shoes for a run.

Thursday - Decided on another longer run today. The course included my usual jaunt down to the Lane Cove National Park Weir, followed by meandering up the valley to Macquarie Centre and then across to Quarry Rd and then home, with the nice/nasty addition of a climb back up Pittwater Road for a km right at the end of the run. I was contemplating (as you do) this run and how the third 5km (ie 10-15km) always seems a grind. In analysing the Garmin data I now know why as it is a constant climb through this 5km section. Quite warm by the time I finished in a lather of sweat. The godd thing is I seem to have avoided any weight gain, despite overindulging a little in the last few days.
Stats - 21km in 1:44:08 (avg pace 4:58)

Plans for the rest of the week include a recovery run tomorrow with potentially a last 5km race of the year on Saturday for the Cool Running 5km challenge at the bay. On Sunday I'll see in the New Year with the Black Stump Bush Run, on what it sounds like will be another warm day....

Quarry Road Initiation

The Quarry Road trail which runs between Hornsby and Galston has a reputation as a good Six Foot Track training regime and given my focus on this event I decided to join in the organised group run for Christmas Eve. Knowing there is no water available on the trail but that Horrie was bringing some refreshments to leave at the trailhead. I thought about using the Camelbak but just opted for the bottle bumbag.

As I was driving up I started to already question the wisdom of not using the camelbak as the outside temperature indicator was reading 37 degrees! A whole heap of runners, with some familiar faces showed up and we set off. My usual fairly fast downhill style saw me tucked in behind Uncle Dave (about the only time that will ever happen!) until it levelled out a little where I let him go. After about 1.5km I crossed the bridge over Berowra Creek and started climbing. About halfway up Don Juan and Royworlds caught up to me and by the top Suzanne K had also latched on. From there it was still about 2km to the trailhead at the other end of the track where Spud had left some provisions to restock us.

Suzanne and I took off after a little break while the others stayed a little longer. On the longer downhill stretch I pulled clear for a while, only to be passed by DJ. Royworlds went past on the return uphill but I kept him in sight and actually went back past close to the top. I was also a little surprised that I stayed clear of Suzanne. A good gathering at the top where we topped up drinks and caught up with some others who had run earlier but it was still warming up...

Back down the hill, just lurking behind DJ and Suzanne, who turned around after the bridge. I now started to really feel the heat and was consuming quite a bit of water. By the time I got to the major trail junction I was starting to feel the strain and was also worried that Spud had left and so there may be no fluids at the far end. This coupled with starting to struggle and the heat in general left me with the decision to turn around, thus ensuring I would at least make it back to the start with some fluids.

A push back up the hill a second time and was very pleased to see plu minding the camp and immediately plonked myself down and downed a coke and water in quick succession which felt a lot better. Had a chat with plu before heading off to the mother in law's place for a swim to refresh before tacking the horror of food shopping on Christmas Eve.




Stats
Distance : 21.3Km
Time : 2:04:25 (first complete lap was 1:10)
Avg Pace : 5:50 min/km
Avg HR : 163

A fair run, probably too fast on the first lap, but hey a good learning experience! Will certainly aim to run this course a few times in the next couple of months.

Weekly Summary
Distance : 80km
A nice continuing increase in what really is only my third proper full week. Only 11 weeks to go until race day, yikes!! A rest day tomorrow though as the family fun of Christmas unfolds.

Finally I would like to pass on my best wishes to all (any?) that take the time to read this blog, have a great Christmas!

Recovery

Easier day today with a couple of laps around Ryde Common on the grass. Shins are a little tender which usually means the calves are a little hammered so did some extra stretching there. Well and truly on the wind down for Christmas now, a couple of drinks in the city this afternoon and then a couple of laps of the Quarry Road course near Hornsby to round out the week, followed by a hopefully refreshing swim at the mother in law's place.

The kids are all wound up now and all shoppign done other than food which I'll finish tomorrow, but will make the annual late night trek to the fish markets tonight to stock up big time for the next couple of days.

Summer Series @ Balmoral + more

Wednesday night and another Summer Series run, this time around the slopes of Balmoral and Chinamans Beach. This has gained some reputation as a tough run, with runners trying to minimise the up/downs, while maximising points. Another well planned map with a tantalising cluster of 90 points at the northernmost edge at Chinamans Beach, but some tricky control placement and route options enroute and then some points to chase at the other end of the map if time permitted.

I opted to run in a counter clockwise direction, giving me various shortcut options if required on the way home. Pretty smooth sailing early on, a slight stumble at 14 in the bush with some lung busters after that climbing up the slopes. My route as per Garmin and Google Earth is here. Time started running low at around 23 and I opted to avoid the drop/climb associated with 4 to 5 and so contoured around to 5. A major snafu then in somehow managing to miss 19 on the way to 22, then downhill towards the finish. I decided to shortcut through the bush, hoping I might spike 2 but missed it and finished 4 minutes late.

Stats
Distance : 8.3km
Time : 48:35
Points : 500 - 40 = 460
Avg pace : 5:50 min/km
Avg HR : 163

Somewhat disappointing, losing in hindsight focus at some key points. Seagull had a blinder with 540 but the real guns ended up with 590!!! Time to mentally refocus on Summer Series, the last couple of runs have come unhinged a little.

A pretty warm night, with bushfires a little further north at Allambie, had a quick post run swim in the hearbour which was great!

Thursday
Opted for a medium/long run today. Started off feeling a bit sluggish and beat up. Eventually warmed up a little, but it was obvious I was still dehydrated from last nights run and so included a few more pitstops to try and top up the fluids. Struggled home in the end, but a good run to have under the belt, trying to keep the normal pace on tired legs/body. Spent the rest of the day rehydrating, having lost 2.5kg in 2 days. Also a noticeable absence of runners/walkers in Lane Cove NP today, just some of the usual cyclists.

Stats
Distance : 14.5km
Time : 1:12:49
Avg Pace : 5:02 min/km
Avg HR : 158

A recovery run tomorrow and then some very hilly trail running on Saturday at some distance, given no time/ability to run on Christmas Day....

Bay run with a difference

The difference being that the aforementioned bay is actually Port Phillip Bay as I am in Melbourne for work. A while ago Wobbly Man suggested a nice flat run for a recovery run if I was in Melbourne. No time like the present so out this evening. The course follows a tram line to the bay, starting near the casino and finishing at the Tasmania Ferry terminal. It is indeed flat and on a bike path quite removed from traffic, only crossing about 3-4 streets.

The legs were very sluggish to get going, the shins in particular a bit tender after the bashing I gave them yesterday in the lighter racing shoes. Once warmed up however it was not too bad, a very cruisy 8km.

Stats
Distance : 8km
Time : 43:39
Avg pace : 5:27
Avg HR : 146

Good hit out

Ended up not doing a recovery run on Saturday but still managed 72km for the week. I had decided that I was going to do the 10km race, even to the point of setting up the virtual partner feature on the Garmin accordingly. However when I got out to the venue it was quite cool, for this time of the year. That coupled with chatting a few regulars and I signed up for the half before I changed my mind again.

Headed out a little cautiously, just a little slower than the target pace of 4:15. Colin joined me and just before the 5km turnaround we joined up with Barry and Peter from Striders. The 5km split was 21:37. I consciously decided to up the pace a little coming back and we went through 10km in 42:58 (5km split of 21:21). Then we hit the hill on the return loop and I slowly slid off the back of the other 3. Headed back down the hill I managed to regain some ground but ended up about 20m off.

The second lap was tougher as the wind had picked up and running uphill, into a head wind and trying to regain ground is bloody hard. As a result the 15km split was a little slower at 1:05:47 (22:49). Now it was a case of focus on form and pace and bring it home. I could still see Barry about 200m up the road and there was another guy between us so I set out to try and catch him. In the last 2km I was really reeling him in, but ran out of distance, but I ran it out hard all the way to the line.

Stats
Distance : The Garmin said 21.22 but again Sportstracks does better with a 21.11!
Time : I missed the official time and hit the stop on the Garmin after running through the line, roughly 1:33:18
Avg Pace : 4:25
Avg HR : 162

Very happy with this run, given very early in the 6ft prep and since Sydney the training has been maintenance only relatively speaking. Second best ever Half Marathon time and 3 minutes off my previous course PB. The legs have pulled up pretty well, so a great way to end the year of racing (ok, still one Summer Series event to go).

Had a post race seasonal celebratory brew with Colin as he will miss any catch up events looming in the remaining days left in the year.

Puddles

of sweat that is. Another humid morning today and I headed out for my "medium/long" run. Threaded through LCNP on my usual route to the weir and then back along the Striders 10km course, diverting near the rangers hut on the hill onto the cycleway under the bridge and then weaving through the streets to Macquarie Centre and the cycleway that runs all the way up to Quarry Road. This course is a good challenge as there is quite a bit of up and down but you are rewarded with a great view of the city at the top of Quarry Road and then a great dowhnill stretch. However there is a nasty little bugger of a hill about 1km out from home.

Finished up pretty well but had to do my stretches/exercises etc out on the verandah as the sweat was well and truly running.

Stats
Distance 19.2km
Time 1:36:11
Avg Pace 5:00 min/km :)
Avg HR 159

Missed the recovery run yesterday but might do one tomorrow and then aiming to race at the Sydney Marathon Clinic series on Sunday at scenic (not) Smithfield. Unsure whether to tackle the 10km or half but either way will go out hard and see if I can threaten the PB. Probably leaning towards the 10km though.

Pretty happy with the way the body has adapted to the somewhat sudden increase in training again, the race should be a good guide for reference again in January with another month under my belt.

ps Miners I can't tell what I was getting for someone else to give to me for christmas as it's supposed to be a surprise, but it is not cycling gear......

Summer Series Haberfield

Arrived a little later than usual after popping in to my old workplace at Clarence St Cyclery to get a christmas present for myself (to be given to me though!) and also to catch up with my old work mates.

Quite a crowd with a special guest appearance from Striders president Action, who lives around the corner. As I was getting ready to go also saw the Striders MTG doing the dog track loop on their usual Wednesday afternoon run. Checking the results already posted and noticed that Ben Rattray, a seriously good Orienteer, had got the lot and was back close to 2 minutes early!

The controls were pretty well laid out with 3 clusters to entice you to the 3 corners of the map. Had a quick chat/brief with Action, warning him about navigation within Callan Park hospital before going to get changed.

Finally headed off at a good pace, aiming for the controls along the bay run all the way to Iron Cove Bridge, a slight oops in route selection at one control but pretty fast running. The plan coming back was up and through the hospital grounds, sarting off pretty well but then, not heeding my own previously mentioned advice, the wheels fell off with a serious misnavigation and a couple of minutes lost before getting back on track (circled on map). Then to make things worse while I was charging off trying to regain some time I stuffed up again and added probably close to 500m through initially running up the wrong street, but then not continuing and turning right, but back tracking (second circle).



From here everything fell back into place, but the damage was done timewise and I had to rule out visting the southern cluster of points. A real fast hit out on the way back to the finish with the last 500m done at 3:35 min/km pace according to the garmin!!

End result was 520 points but 1:02 late (just not fast enough in that last 500m) to see 20 points deducted for a net score of 500.

Stats
Distance 9.48km
Time 46:02
Avg Pace 4:51 (even after the stuffing around)
Avg HR 174

All in all it was not a good run with the nav problems, but I was very happy with the way I actually ran, the legs felt fresh and recovered after the hills on Tuesday and generated some good speed at the end.

More Hill Work

Back to Cox's Road for another hill session.

Pretty much identical to last week, although I was a little dusty for the first couple. The good thing is that I did manage to hold a faster pace for the last few reps.

So 17 reps at an average of 1:42 with a average recovery of 1:53.

Certainly had a good burn going in the quads by the end. Also a CR spotting as I was heading out the door as Kanangra was coming in the other direction.

Tomorrow Summer Series at Haberfield which should include part of the Bay Run I am sure, looks like the start/finish will be near where the CR 5km challenge finishes.

Rocks Push STaR - Long

My first STaR for a while due to a variety of circumstances. This STaR is actually the first run I ever did with the Striders and also probably not far from 3 years ago as well. However I have not run this since (only did the 7am group back then).

A good sized 6:10 group which included CR's Action, Luke Skyrunner, Langswm (and Mrs Langswm), Mike F. The pace was actually quite reasonable, either because Action was with us or maybe the holiday season. Immediately the Garmin had major problems as we ran through the city canyons. Lots of fun as various groups of straggling revellers from partying the night before gave us encouragement. Looped through Darling Harbour where another group of substance influenced individuals were waiting, one trying to run with us for a little while, but his baggy trousers kept on falling down!

The weather was cooler, but still humid with some occasional drizzle. Still a nice steady pace according to the now happier Garmin as we weaved through Pyrmont and Ultimo to Central. More signal problems as we passed through the city on the way to Darlinghurst and Kings Cross. Some nasty sets of stairs here as well.

By the time we got to Rushcutters Bay to start looping back the pace had started to pick up a little. Another climb (and more stairs) back up to Elizabeth Bay and down to Wollomolloo on the way to Lady Macquaries Chair. Through here the 6:20 group caught us and we merged together after a drink stop for the dash around the Opera House and back to the Harbour Bridge. I was struggling a little with the pace here but then realised it was because we were running at 4:30 min/km all of a sudden.

Thankfully the group splintered as most shortcutted back to Observatory Hill while the remainder continued across the bridge to Neutral Bay. By now I was running by myself but still moving nicely. Caught up to Johnny Dark and Professor at Kurraba Point but then had to chase them down again as I stopped for a gu and water. Back through Kiribilli and over the Narbour Bridge to the finish.

Can't say this would be my favorite STaR, too many stairs and running in city streets, but certainly very scenic with all the prominent landmarks featured.

Given the signal problems for the Garmin I gave up looking at splits/pace etc and was quite surprised when I downloaded to Sportstracks that it managed to track my route pretty well despite all the signal problems. Even more surprising was the stats for the run

Distance - 31.6km
Time - 2:41:09
Avg pace - 5:06 min/km
Avg HR - 159

Given we did run for a while at 5:30 pace, the faster back half made a big difference. That is actually my goal for these longer runs, to run a steady pace but pick it up towards the end to try and simulate running at pace on tired legs.

Although they were getting noticeably tired the legs have pulled up pretty well, slight tenderness at the bottom of my right shin where the tendon runs across the ankle then the top of the foot, maybe the shoelace was done up a little tight.

Crazy week coming up with heavy work commitments as well as some of the usual christmas season catching up with clients and business parters at various do's. Will be a challenge to keep on track but we'll see!

Medium Long

The "schedule" had me down for 20km but given the amount of running I hve already done this week off a pretty low base I decided to tone that down to 15km and focus on an even pace.

The usual run down to Lane Cove Weir for a quick drink stop, it seemed humid again this morning. Coming back along the Striders 10km course and there were certainly a few more people out than you see in the middle of winter. Saw fellow CR Barney (or was it cherry, I get them mixed up) near the sandstone bridge.

Up the hill to the gate and then back through suburbia to make it around 14.5km. Felt a little tight to begin but loosened up as I went along. Back home for some stretching and strength exercises, including a bout with the foam roller as I sense my LH ITB is a little tight.

Stats 14.5km in 1:11:38, averages - pace 4:56, HR 158.

I have a recovery run scheduled for tomorrow, will wait and see if I opt to do it or given the sudden step up have a rest in prep for the Sunday STaR.

Weekly summary - 64km, weight 75.9km already down a few kg from a couple of weeks ago but also certainly some fluid replacement still needed after another sweaty run this morning

SUMMER Series

A bit of a drive out west last night to Northmead for the Summer Series event. Truly summer as the outside temperature sensor in the car was reading 41 degrees (celcius!) this also being accented by a strong warm westerly wind. This is a new map based around the upper reaches of the Parramatta River, Westmead Hospital and Parramatta Jail. Some residual stiffness in the glutes from the hill session yesterday morning in walking around but did not seem to restrict the running at all.

For those interested here is a copy of the map and my route marked out. A quick run through teh streets to 7, then down and across the creek to 11, skirting around the back of the jail to 14 in pretty quick time. Slowed the pace down a little in navigating through the buildings but then picked it up again to get to 21. Lost concentration here, being in the right place but forgetting what I was looking for as a security guard from Parramatta Leagues asked me what I was up to. Pretty plain sailing then through 27, 17 and 5 seeing Richard G, another (faster, ie 37 min 10km) Strider. Across the river for 22, already opting to drop 9 and 10 and some fast flat running to 29. From here I got a break with a series of runners popping out coming in the other direction which helped guide me onto a bush path to 30. Another oops at 3, again forgetting what I was looking for. By 16 I knew I was under a little time pressure and opted to miss 4 and go straight to 19 where I again saw Richard. From 25 I decided to go straight to 20 but the various fences meant there was not a good direct route and in hindsight I should have got 12 as well.

More weaving through fences and buildings to finally get clear running again to 28, across to 23 and then back along the river, getting the feet wet at the crossing to get back with 520 points but 3 minutes late to give me 490 net. The highest score was only 540 so a little disappointed that my various slip ups conspired to cost me probably 30 points.

Overall stats 8.6km in 47:16 (avg pace 5:31 and avg HR of 173). Bloody hot day, the second in not so many days so I am drinking water like crazy today.

This morning I did a light recovery run with 2 laps of North Ryde Common for 6.7km in 38:30 (avg 5:45, avg HR 148). I'm going to base my recovery runs around the common as I can pretty much run on grass the whole way, giving the legs a break. Today they felt pretty bashed up, hopefully will pull up ok for a medium long run tomorrow.

Hill reps

Flew back into Sydney on an overnight service, arriving Monday morning. I wore my skins during the flight and the legs felt very fresh yesterday, despite the hard run and then flying for 7 hours.

One obvious weak point in my running has been hills and I have to attack this head on so back around the corner this morning for hill reps up Cox's Road. For reference the distance is about 310m and it is a very even slope, a little bit steeper than Lilyfield Road for those that run there. In the past I have done these as a higher intensity session, usually with less than 10 reps and averaging 1:25 to 1:30 per rep with a standing recovery at the bottom.

Today the goal was to keep on going for an hour, at a slightly slower pace but lots more reps. I ended up with 17 reps done at an average of 1:42 and a run down recovery average of 1:49. Quite a hard session towards the end, hopefully this will build some hill endurance in the legs.

This gave me all up 11.6km (including warmup/down and recovery) in 1:05:53

Singapore Half Marathon

The Unofficial version.....

Despite a variety of different attempts to late enter the Singapore Half Marathon while I was up here on work I failed :(

So I resolved to run the same distance anyway but by myself as I explored the centre of the island. After a couple of late nights (work socialising) I struggled out of bed at 9am Singapore time and kitted up. I included the waterbottle bumbag as I was sure it would be warm/humid. A bit of stuffing around in trying to get the Garmin to realise this was not Kansas and then I was off. The plan was to run up into the hills in the middle of the island where there are some water reservoirs and it is a little bushier.

At about 7-8km finally I got to the point of not running near major roads and started running on a 2 lane road through the jungle. Wow what an experience. I would have seen about 100+ monkeys, all on the side of the road. Being a little nervous I just kept to my path and kept running, quite a few cars were stopped to take photos and feed them, despite the signs. Also I saw some fairly large lizards, one being the size of a small/medium goanna! The plan was to turn around when the Garmin said 10.5km to get close to a proper out and back half distance.

Coming back down the hill I was starting to wither in the heat and used up the contents of my water bottle just as I arrived near some petrol stations. After sculling a gatorade and then topping up the bottle I was off, but the pace was slowing a bit. At one intersection as I was approaching I saw a car also approaching but as I was distracted my lh foot hit some uneven ground and I stumbled heavily, propping myself up with my left hand/arm and bouncing across the intersection to the amazement of the driver.

I was very glad to get within sight of the hotel and did a little loop to ensure I did knock off the 21.1km. Funny thing is that with some of the early Garmin problems the Sportstracks program actually reckons I did 22.5km!

So I'll take the extra distance and did the run in 1:57:58 (avg pace of 5:14 and avg HR of 174!). It took about 15 minutes standing in the cold shower to stop sweating. I reckon that is the hottest/must humid run I have ever done. Spent the next half hour in the hotel pool and finally felt a little more human again.

A great experience but I must be stark raving mad to be out running in the middle of the day in the tropics! On the way home now, hopefully some consistency in training from this point forward.

Summer Series - Blackman Park

A tough run last year and after a quick look at the map it would be no different. Spent quite a while trying to work out a good route which in itself is a good indication of a well set map. Finally headed off and opted to climb straight up to the industrial area, pick up a few points and then down to the bush along Lane Cove River. The fast climb left me a little breathless but I soon settled down through the bush section with a number of other runners following a similar route. A climb back up to pick up some more points and then zig zagging through Lane Cove West all the way to Centennial Avenue and then along here towards River Road. Another quick section of bush and back just one minute late for 480 points. A real tough run and in hindsight I could have done better with my route selection Seagull pipped me by 10 points, well done, but not many others had bettered his score when I left.

Stats 7.9km in 45.34 (avg pace 5:46 and HR 174).

Thanks to all who commented, I think 5kg is realistic, especially since I have put one or two back on since Sydney. Clairie, I'm replacing the grog with low cal cordial, or water, hopefully that will still make a difference. I'm in the airport lounge waiting to board for Singapore, a few runs in the humidity will keep me honest!

Motivation

Tuesday - Another struggle to get up and so no run :(.

Through the day I swapped emails with a few likely suspects re 6 ft training and the suggestions of running 4:30 eeek! So after a business meeting in the afternoon I headed home, did some work from home until the family arrived, preped teh kids dinner and then laced up the shoes and headed out.

Did my usual down to Lane Cove Weir, where I ran into Jim and the Lane Cover River Runners (who I completely forgot about). Had a quick chat with Jim but opted out of runnign with them the fast guys would have been a bit too much given I was aiming for 15km and racing summer series Wednesday but Jim and his group would have been a bit too slow also. Really focused on pushing the effort on the hills and popped out on Lane Cove Road at the top of the hill and back home via Cox's Road, starting to tire but holding sub 5min/km pace.

Finished with 14.5km in 1:10 (4:50 avg pace and avg HR of 167), a pretty good workout and soon I'll add in another hill towards the end.

Summer Series tonight at Blackman PArk where I have run quite often so hopefully should be a good run/score.

From there on in it is December and the true start of my regime. For reference the new "accurate" scales I got say that I am 78.9kg at the moment. Already have made the conscious decision to dramatically reduce my alcohol intake, especially during the week. Usually I had a couple of glasses of wine most nights, now nothing at all unless I am out at dinner etc. Christmas/December will be a challenge, but even more the reason not to drink if I am at home. That coupled with healthier eating and intense training and it should be interesting to see how much comes off, I'm thinking at least 5kg!

The last few days...

Thursday - slacked off and did not go out in morning and then got home too late to run as the wife was going out

Friday - Did my stock Lane Cove National Park Weir run, bang on 5 min/km pace for the 11km

Saturday - CR 5km Challenge
A last minute decision to have a run and I lined up with the other 20 minute people. There was a large 21 minute pack and I think there may have not been a full minute between us?

Professor acted as the initial pacing rabbit and we hit 1km in 3:50. From here a few of us crept up and I was happy to let Nando and another (who I now know as Where Did My Shoe Go?) set the pace and I tucked in about 5 metres behind. Second km was also 3:50 and we then started overhauling the 21 minute stragglers. The 3km mark was a little slower with 3:57 and as I rounded the corner started to struggle to stick with the 2 leader. Along here, just before the UTS Rowers I caught up with team Criniti and edged past as we headed to the business end of the run. The 4km marker saw a 3:59 split, I still had the 2 leaders within 20 metres but really started to struggle as a nasty headwind revealed itself to couple with the usual torture of the winding last km.

Caught BennyR through here and Springer also cruised past, with about 500m to go I could hear Team Criniti coming back and I swear Uncle Dave was 5m behind me encouraging Papa Luigi on. I bashed my way to the line and I think Superflake got a photo as I am sure there were a few runners literally breathing down my neck as I hit the line, holding them off .

Last km of 4:01 to give a total of 19:41 and I was about 2 gags away from undigesting my breakfast so there was not much left in the bank. Even though about 25 seconds from my PB I was pretty happy with my run, given the recent running I have (or have not) been doing.

A good cruise back with plu before I had to head off quicker than I would have liked to let the foxtel man in to fix our service.

Well done to those with PB's, in particular FakePlasticTrees and Papa Luigi (who is on fire!). A good benchmark run for myself which also makes me feel quite good about my Wednesday night Summer Series runs so far (ie what can I do when I am running faster again......)

Sunday - Flew down to Geelong on Saturday night for a corporate golf day, was hoping to go for a 20km run but could not be bothered getting up at 5am.

Monday - Massive problems getting back from Melbourne on planes, spent about 3 hours at Melbourne airport and was knackered by the time I got home and into bed so slept in this morning. I do really need to up the motivation.

The plan for the week, a long run Tuesday with Summer Series at Lane Cove West on Wednesday night. Thursday probably a recovery run before I hop on a plane to Singapore. I was hoping to run the Singapore Half Marathon which is on while I am there but entries have closed. I will pack the race gear anyway and show up at registration on the Saturday begging.

Summer Series @ Lindfield

A new map, which always makes for a level playing field. As I suspected after a quick review of the map, quite a bit of up and down and also a bit of bush that I did not know existed.

Quickly realised the lot was not a possibility and ruled out a couple of groups of controls that would have sucked up a bit of time. Was interested to see how the legs would hold up, still some residual stiffness in the outer lower hammies, but much better than yesterday.

A quick loop through a few controls close to the start and then through teh bush section. Each of the controls here were not too bad. Then towards the UTS campus, but I did not venture all the way to where there were a couple of controls on the other side of the campus near the bush. Along and up towards the highway and another set of parks before zig zagging parallel to the highway all the way to behind Lindfield shops. Then back down the slope towards the finish. Actually got to a control not far from the finish right on 45 minutes but added another 50 points through a little loop and got back 4 minutes late so the loop was a good idea.

All up my score was 500 and for a while this was the best, a couple of faster guys came in in front towards the end though and I probably ended up around 4th. Highest score was 550 so I was pretty pleased.

Caught up with seagull (who I again managed to beat by around 20 points!), Hefty and I am sure I saw Running Nicho out there was well.

Very happy with the run, both route selection, navigation and how the legs actually went. Legs feel fresh today but will do a recovery run tonight.

Stats: 8.7km in 49:27, avg pace of 5:40 min/km and avg HR of 175.

Recovery

Monday - generally pulled up ok after a good sleep. Had a massage to try an loosen up the tight spots and went to a new guy in North Sydney who was very good. Combining Shiatsu and sports massage he gave me a very good work over.

Tuesday - was planning to do a short recovery run this morning but the back of the legs behind the knees are still extremely tight. Not sure if it is muscular (DOMs), tendonitis, or a combination of both. Have worked out that it is not only from a higher leg lift running in the bush but also thinking about it I twist/splay the legs outwards at the same time for better clearance. For sure I am activating some muscles in a different direction to normal.

Something to think about next time I am out there, not sure how I can train for this other than more bush running. Given my time in the immediate future will not be spent running through the bush but on roads or trails I think I'll leave it for now.

Summer Series tomorrow on a new map at Lindfield, around MPHaz's 'hood so I expect we'll be shuffling up and down the sloped between Lady Game Drive and the Pacific Highway.

Illawarra Socialgaine

My first longer distance hitout for some time and wow what a tough run. A socialgaine is essentially a Rogaine based in more of an urban setting with some fun stuff added in. There were four different options to also be able to acrue bonus points by selecting one of four categories. We of course went for the "extreme" option! My partner Warwick and I nutted out a rough plan of action, which involved climbing up the escarpment from the north Wollongong suburbs and then sweeping back through along the flatter coast.

Up the hill with a slight hiccup on the first control. We finally made it up and starting accumulating points well. A bit of a stuff up at the first bonus control but it was pretty tough going through some heavy scrub (and without leg protection which I thought would not be required. A few more good controls and then a massive stuff up which had us wandering around for quite a while in totally the wrong area...

Finally managed to relocate (with red faces) and try and recover. Picked up the next bonus control and then it was time to head back down the slopes. Another stuff up, missing a very discrete trail, but this time we were not alone with many other groups also having to back track. By now we were considerably off target and opted to miss a couple of controls in order to get down to the flatter sections. By now my legs were also starting to complain. Around here in talking with Warwick, discovered that he has finished 11 6ft tracks and has never run slower than 4:30 so I was doing quite a bit of brain picking!

The more flat running and the more the legs started to tighten up. We stopped for a coke to try and top up the sugar levels but with about 1:30 to go the inevitable cramps started to appear. We kept on pushing on but gradually slowed as my cramps spread to different muscles on different legs. We ended up getting back a few minutes late after pushing hard for some extra points.

Some analysis tonight and worked out that with the 2 major navigation slip ups we lost close to an hour, not to mention the energy expended on the tougher terrain. Tonight I am knackered, the legs have lots of cuts/grazes from all the scrub and I am getting still getting cramps (especially in the foot). Have doned the skins and also just stuffed my face with some chips to try and top up the salt levels. A good hit out but I will be sore tomorrow, a great way way to formally kick off my Six Foot campaign, 16 weeks to go!!!!

Family Vacation

Yes, this time the reason for my lack of blogging was because we were off imitating the Griswalds up on the Gold Coast. Given some other events recently I deliberately did not blog this (not wanting to broadcast to anyone who might read that the home would be empty!). Also apologies to any Bris Vegas readers, at one point I was going to try and catch up with them for a run but an extremely hectic week put a stopper on that idea. I did get a chance to go out one morning (just also happened to be probably the warmest while we were there. Ran from Surfers Paradise to Burleigh Heads and back. An interesting course, some very boring streets mixed in with some magnificent ocean/surf views. Really started to struggle towards the end but put this down to the combined heat/humidity.

Still alive!

Yes folks I am still here. Some major internet access problems and a few other committments have made blogging (and reading others blogs) a tough task.

I've been running (not heaps though) with Summer Series on Wednesday then the Striders 10km @ Lane Cove on Saturday followed by a long distance orienteering event on Sunday from Castle Hill to Parramatta along the various sections of bush (you'd be amazed how much bush is actually between Castle Hill and Parramatta!).

Another Summer Series tonight and a major stuff up at one (very technical, ie hard to find control).

I'm hoping to blog more regularly again but probably not for another week and a bit until I sort out the internet problems.

On a significant note from last Sunday there were 18 weeks until Six Foot Track!!!

I have formulated a program which should get me moving again on the training front and also drop a few kg's ;)

Still here!

Yes I am still here, no blogging due to a mixture of long work hours, other committments and general apathy.

I have been doing some running however competing in the Summer Series last and this Wednesday along with running 25km in the STaR at Homebush on Sunday.

Certainly not ideal but better than nothing I suppose, the Summer Series sessions have been great fartlek type sessions and have been very intense. The STaR on Sunday was tough, got caught up with the 6:20 group for a while and suffered accordingly down the track struggling home in much warmer weather.

Will try to get back on track now with a couple of longer Orienteering/Rogaining events coming up.

Recovery

Had a massage yesterday afternoon, freed things up nicely that were tight but she commented that for sure the lower hammies/tendons behind the knees were inflammed.

So a complete rest today given that tenderness and also while I am "working" over the blisters on my heels.

Summer Series for sure tomorrow afternoon and still having a big rethink about the rest of the year. As much as I regret it seems the tri's may be beyond my reach with everything else that is going on. Work is busier (with more trips planned) and the social calendar at home is also conjested.

So Summer Series is on for sure, might switch and do the 6 hour socialgaine in November (instead of Nepean tri) and now it seems work want me to be in Singapore in early December which is also when the Singapore Marathon and Half Marathon are on so might have a go at that which makes the Canberra Half Iron Man extremely shakey 7 days later.....

NSW 24 hour Rogaine Championships

Warning, not much running here in this post, more about long distance bush navigation, move on if that is not what you are looking for.

For the uninitiated a Rogaine is a long distance bush navigation event. You are provided with a large map with "control points" highlighted. Each control point has a value, usually ranging from 10 to 90 and also usually associated with the ease/difficulty in reaching the point. Along with the map you get a list which actually tells you the feature the control point is located, eg top of knoll, saddle, gully, spur, watercourse junction etc etc etc. It is really a long orienteering event but you get to choose which controls you visit and the route you take to get there.

I have done a few 6 hour events before but decided to step up into a 24 hour event and see how I went. My physio who also does rogaines put me onto a couple of mates of his that were planning on doing it and so we had a team (you have to do this as a minimum 2 person team).

The course was based in the Wollemi National Park near Dunns Swamp, which is about 30 minutes away from Rylestone (which is about 45 minutes east of Mudgee). I had actually been up here 12 months earlier for the NSW Orienteering Championships, but this was going to be much longer.

Up at 5:30am and on the road just after 6, travelled to Lithgow on Bells Line Rd and then towards Mudgee before heading east getting to the Hash House (the start finish point and also where they cater food for entrants during the event). Meet up with a few familiar faces and then found my new team mates Brad and Jim.

We pitched the tent and then started reviewing the map. They wanted to do the event in 2 loops, one lasting around 12-13 hours, back for a feed/rest and then out again at first light for another 6-7 hours. However the layout of the map did not really allow for this so we devised a hybrid version. While doing this fuelled up with food and drink and loaded up the camelback with everything needed out on the course. The hash house was at the southern end of the map and right at the northern end was a tea & damper camp, where you can refuel etc during the event.

Midday rolls around and we are off, heading east to pick up a few controls before turning north. About 90 minutes in and we had cleared a couple of controls but then struggled to find the next one, eventually opting to move on rather than wasting anymore time. From here we shifted westward and made some good progress. Crossing the swamp being unable to get the feet wet and then a long climb up a gully/watercourse to yet again have problems finding another control (40). Again eventually opting to keep moving. From there things went very wellpicking up a number of points with minimal navigation problems before attacking number 60 at the top of a serious climb that the course notes suggested should only be attempted in daylight. Thankfully we got to the top just as the sun was setting and were rewarded with a magnificent vista overlooking the ranges.

Down the other side to pick up a few more points and then a couple of km hike to the tea and damper stop. By now it was dark and the torches were out. We refueled with some damper and honey, cheese sandwiches and some cordial and I topped up the camelback having drained the 3 litres. Also donned my thermal vest and armwarmers and tried to tape up the blisters on my heels and replaced the socks.

At around 7:30pm we headed out again, head lamps on and I had a good small torch as well. Picked up a few more controls fairly easily, given navigating in the night but the scrub was noticeably thicker here and I was leading for quite a while with real tough going in places.

About here the wheels fell off. We were heading down one slope and then across a valley to climb up to another spur. We decided to turn a little earlier and climb up and contour around the slope but hit some pretty steep bits. Losing quite a bit of time we evntually got more level ground and puched on but it seemed had lost map contact. We spent about 45 minutes looking for the control (52) and eventually decided to move on and head back. However as we headed south all we could find were impassable cliff faces which we could not get down. So we ventured around the contour lookking for a way down, and at the same time hitting even denser scrub. Finally we found a way down to the gully below but it was very treacherous and slow going given the conditions.

By the time we got to the valley floor it was around 11:30 it took another 45 minutes to fight our way out through the scrub back to a track so we finally knew where we were again. At that stage we had had enough but were a long hike from the hash house. At least there was a firetrail we could take which eased the navigation aspects. Jointly we decided not to head off road again, Jim was quite fatigued and was also very sore in one knee, which with a bit of bush doctor diagnosis sounded like ITB.

As we progressed along the track each downhill he slowed more and more and so it ws agreed, even the control points within 100m of the road on the way back were now not feasible and the sole goal was to get back to camp. With about 3-4km to go an approaching a "proper" dirt road we agreed it would be best if I went ahead and picked up my car to come back and get the others, so off I went. Out of interest I decided to see how it felt like running, after 14 odd hours of walking and surprisingly it was pretty good. So I mixed up running/jogging downhill/flat and walking uphill. Very sureal with only the moon and my headlamp to keep me company in the middle of nowhere.

Got back to camp, grabbed a can of pepsi and packet of chips which I furiously consumed while drivng back out to pck the others up. Finally got back to the tent we all changed (I put my skins on and downed an Opti) and as we quickly drifted off to sleep it started raining...

Woke up at 7am, feeling remarkable fresh to the sound of consistent rain, that coupled with Jim's ITB issues and my blisters on both heels made an easy decision not to go out again. Instead we wandered over to the hash house for a great cooked breakfast. Caught up with Rob Vincent who it seems had got back abtout 7am and had cleared the course (ie all controls!!!). In cahtting he did mention that the scrub out there was as tough as he has ever seen so that made me feel a little better.

I'm very happy with the way I have pulled up. Of most concern are the blisters on the heel, caused by movement over the orthotics in the shoes over the very uneven ground. Only 2 real tight spots muscule wise, the lower inside hamstrings/tendons which I associate with having to use a much higher leg lift in the bush than normal trail or road running and the lower back and obliques from all of the pushing /twisting etc through the dense scrub.

A little disappointed in our navigation stuff ups but the more I hear from others who were out there it seems a common theme, in what is being described as a difficult course.

For sure I am going to do more of this, probably culminating in the World Championships which will be held in NSW this time next year!

This week, gently does it but I will be at Summer Series orienteering at Meadowbank on Wednesday for sure.

2 posts in 2 days!

Yes a new record for recent times.

Felt very average yesterday afternoon, tired and it seemed on the verge of a sore throat etc. Sleep was not good last night, our 2yo who had his first full day of day care went to sleep at 6:30pm and so at 5am this morning was full of beans while I was still trying to catch up on the lost sleep from last week.

Could not be bothered to go out for a run, the legs have pulled up ok, the niggles that started to surface have gone away so it seems easing up when I did was the right idea. Hammies are both a little tight but I'll call that DOMS.

Given the plans for the week end with the 24 hour Rogaine I'll do a few short runs but nothing too intense.

Might also have to do a rethink of the rest of the year after this weekend, the calendar is looking pretty full and work seems to be getting busier. I've sort of enjoyed the last month post Sydney of "cruising" but the program I drew up has gone to waste and I'm not sure how I'll fit all of the different committments looming in.

Weekly update

As foreseen in my last post this week (just past) was going to be hectic. Not much running here I'm afraid!

Had a presentation to do in Christchurch New Zealand and in the end did an all nighter for final prep on Tuesday night. Finally finished at 5:30am, just in time to shower/shave etc and catch a cab to the airport. The followed 3 days of mayhem,

Wednesday saw me flying to NZ, arriving at 2:30 local time and then going to the customer office to finalise details for the session the following morning. The pre-requisite dinner with grog then also followed. The weather outside was terrible a freezing howling gale.

Thursday, I did wake early (6am NZ time) but in a very sleep deprived state (well it was 3am Aust time) opted for an extra hours sleep, encouraged by the still raging wind. Did the 3 hour presentation which went well, back to the hotel onto the airport for the flight to Melbourne, via Sydney no less! At least I got a free upgrade which made life more comfortable as I did the final prep on my next presentation. Got into Melbourne at around 7:30 and then met up with a few colleagues for dinner and you guessed it with accompanying alcohol.

Friday was busy all day, with internal meetings and my presentation to some of the key management out from the US. Ended up in heading out to dinner, of course with some wine to match. So back to Sydney on Saturday morning to see the family again but also very tired. Tried to cath up on CR and blogs and was disappointed to realise that I had missed my opportunity to pass on my thoughts to those that were marathoning this weekend :(. Worked on final details and handicaps for the Striders half marathon for Sunday and then crashed.

Now for some running!

Up very early and down to Lane Cove to setup for the handicap half. Everything went very smoothly and eventually it was my turn to start. My target time was 93 minutes and only had one other runner show up at this mark so off we went. I planned to run @ 4:25 min/km pace and see what happened in the back half of the race. This was going very nicely and in fact taking advantage of the downhill from the gate to the start/finish I did the first 10km in 43:46 and was gaining very well in the field with no one catching me either.

On the way back out Scribbly's was a bit harder and I was starting to struggle on the flat but was keeping the pace going. One or 2 went past me here but when we got to the major climb the second time I blew up. Still keeping some pace I rolled back down the hill but it soon became apparent that I had spent all my money and the events of the past week were now coming home to roost. Kept on grinding but with about 3km to go the various niggles started to flare up and I eased up not wanting to doing any damage. (knowing that next weekend I am doing a 24hour event)

Stats/splits
5km 22:06 22:06
10km 21:40 43:46
15km 23:22 67:08 (tougher second time out!)
20km 29:06 96:14 (not pretty Jan!)
Finish time 104:07, avg HR of 175.

All things taken into account I am actually happy with the run. At the 15km mark I was still roughly on pace but died second time up that hill. The body actually felt more bashed up after the run than post marathon. So a week of getting back into it hopefully (although another Melbourne trip looms) and then out the back of the Blue Mountains for the 24 hour Rogaine next weekend!

Long Weekend retreat

Yep, not much blogging as we packed the family up and headed down to Kangaroo Valley with 3 other families for the long weekend.

A brilliant time had by all, BBQ's, out door log fires and the kids ran themselves ragged.

I did manage to get out for a run Saturday and Sunday afternoon and clocked up 10 and 16km respectively. The cabins we stayed at are on the road out to a dam, and not far from where the Shoalhaven KOM run comes through.

The actual runs were pretty tough with pretty much all up hill and on the Sunday battling into a warm westerly was tough. However that then makes for a nice negative split coming home. Overall on the weekend though I think I drank a heap more proportionally than I ran :)

Stats
10.1km in 48:20 (4:46min/km & 167 avg hr)
16.1km in 1:19:55 (4:57min/km & 170 avg hr)

Felt pretty good, even in the heat and I think the body has just about recovered after Sydney now. Interesting to see the results from the Striders 10km race on Saturday with quite a few people obviously still also recovering. Makes me happier about my 41:35 at SMC the week before.

A very disrupted week looming due to work, flying to Christchurch and then onto Melbourne, not getting home until Saturday. So no riding but hopefully I'll be able to slip a couple of runs in.

Speaking of riding I forgot to blog that I did a ride with Aunty K and Truckie on Thursday afternoon. Good value zipping around Olympic Park and hopefully passing on a few ideas/thoughts that I have managed to accumulate from my cycling days.

Treadmill trauma

In an attempt to shake the body out of it's slothful recent behaviour I ventured to the gym last night for a treadmill session. Through the day I had been feeling a little average and hoped this workout might blow the cobwebs away.

After 2km warmup @ 5 min/km pace turned up the speed to 3:50 min/km

First rep over and I planned to reduce the rest time from half of the rep time (1:55) to 1:30.

Halfway through the third rep my lunch was starting to threaten to make a special return guest appearance which would not have been a good look so I jumped off. Had a break and then tried another rep @ 4 min/km with similar results so I then abandoned the speed stuff and did a couple of km warmdown @ 5 min/km pace and then thrashed the abs/core muscles instead.

A bit perplexing, obviously the shorter recovery made a BIG difference.

I'm still here!

Yes folks, temporary break in transmission but I'm still here.

Firstly thanks to all re the passing of Madeline. Over the weekend we added to our menagerie 2 new members. they being Russell the Rabbit (named after Mr Crowe) and Barney the Guinea Pig (aka Mr Rubble). Still holding out on the dog front :)

Now back to the running/training, still in a bit of a motivation slump post marathon but managed to get out to Smithfield for the first race in the SMC series and had a bash at the 10km. Saturday was a write off after the heavy night on Friday at drinks with Cool Running leaving me very seedy Saturday morning.

I set up the virtual partner on the Garmin for 39:55 to see how long I could hang in there. The numbers seem to be increasing out there all the time and it is interesting as both the 5km and 10km head off at the same time.

Another Cool Runner, Sarge, asked me my plan at the start. He has run better than me in all recent events and so I was a little surprised when I told him that I'd be trying to break my PB that he'd run with me. However once we got going it was a different story.

First couple of km were good and I ran a bit faster than even pace, knowing the hill in the middle of the course would slow the splits down. At this point I would have been about 5th. Sure enough the hill did slow me down but was not steep enough for me to significantly regain pace on the down slope. A few people went past through here and just as I got to the 5km turnaround a group of 4 caught me. The 5km split was 20:24. Coming back I held onto the group until just before the top of the hill but then they slowly oulled away from me on the downslope again!

From here it was just a case of grind it out home, with little petrol in the tank to be able to drastically up the tempo in the last km or so.

The final time was 41:35. This course is a challenge for me in pace judgement. The hill in the middle is a real burner, longer and more gradual than the hills at Lane Cove, but you do it twice. Also given the more gradual slope I can't seem to up the pace on the run down as I usually can be faster than most others on downhills.

Since Sunday, nothing but I am to run this afternoon and will have a ride at Homebush tomorrow afternoon with Truckie and Aunty K.

Nothin doing...

Not much to report, since the run on Tuesday I've done nothing.

Have felt more motivated to sleep in than exercise and work has become extremely busy.

On a positive note that means little niggles have all gone away and I'm feeling pretty fresh. I'll try and get out on the bike tomorrow but may struggle to do it early with Cool Running drinks on tonight.

Aiming to run SMC on Sunday but 10km, will certainly race it and will be interested to see how I go. Adaption after the marathon should have taken hold.

On a sad note our pet rabbit "Madeline" developed an abcess and made a one way trip to the vet, 3 very heart broken kids :(

Of course this just means the campaign already underway by #1 for a puppy will now escalate.

River Run

The usual run down to Lane Cove weir and back. I never tire of this run, always great value to run through the park with no cars. Lots of native birds out again today, a couple of magpies loitering by the side of the road and behaving themselves. There was a mist coming off the river today, a beautiful morning!

At about 4km I saw spud coming the other way doing some "sekret" bike training. Sounds like he has pulled up well after that amazing 3rd place in the Glasshouse 100 mile ultra.

For some reason Garmin was not being co-operative today and measured long.

Stats 11.1km in 52:30, avg pace 4:44 and avg HR of 161.

So a much better run that last Saturday, a little bit faster but much lower avg HR. Some residual tightness still in calves and hammies but getting there. At least 1 more run before the weekend but I am now surer of running/racing at SMC on Sunday but 10km, not the half!

Easy rider

First time back on the bike for a while. Initial thoughts are the cardiovascular system is in pretty good shape so the cycling muscles in the legs will need the work. That given and also with the advance knowledge that the Canberra Half Ironman has a very "technical" bike course (read hard and hilly) I'll be doing most of my rides over similar terrain to try and achieve maximum adaption in as short a period as possible.

So for this morning out at 6:30 climbing up through Pymble and then out through the back of Turramurra to Bobbin Head. A little cool on the descent but was pretty happy with the climb out. Then from Mt Colah to the back of Hornsby and down to Galston Gorge which is a more technical descent but a nice fairly even climb out the other side. Then through the back of Dural and Pennant Hills to the M2. I really like riding the M2 back home, it is a real fast hammer, again a good replication of the end of the bike leg at Canberra which will also be faster.

The last climb on the off ramp up to Delhi Rd confirmed not a lot left in the quad tank but the legs have pulled up really well. Usual discomfort from sitting on a bike seat for the first time in ages but thats life and will go in a little while after a few more rides.




Stats 64.92km in 2:20:46 (avg speed of 27.7kph and avg HR of 151, so my thoughts at the top were pretty spot on)

2nd Recovery run

Out for a bit longer today, the usual run to Lane Cove Weir and back. A pretty good tempo this time but hard work.

Stats 11km in 52:45 (avg pace 4:45 and avg HR of 172.

Obviously the body is still processing what happened last Sunday, that avg HR is not good. No running tomorrow, I'll head out on the bike.

Race plans and results July to Sept

Wanted to keep this table somewhere for posterity.

Race Plans & Results
Woodford to Glenbrook	26/6/05	1:57:52
Striders 10km Homebush	2/7/05	0:42:07
King of the Mountain	17/7/05	Canned
Sutherland to Surf	24/7/05	0:45:05
Striders 10km	6/8/05	40:28 (pb)
City to Surf	14/8/05	58:57 (pb)
Willy to Billy	21/8/05	3:02:29 (pb)
Striders 10km	3/9/05	43:35 (tempo run)
Sydney Marathon	11/9/05	3:25:05

Relaxing Recovery

Went for a 5km run yesterday, the legs feel good walking around but running again was interesting, mainly could not get into a good rhythm.

Still the run was around 24 minutes which gives about 4:50 pace and an average HR of 152.

The plans for the next couple of months are solidifying nicely. It seems I will actually do the running training around a 12 week half marathon program but only include the hard or long runs, for the days that are scheduled for rest/recovery I'll turn these into cycle/swim sessions.

One thing that seems certain after looking at what I have planned is that I won't be running many STaRs in the next couple of months. With some family holidays, coupled with orienteering/rogaining, Striders Half and then Nepean and Canberra I'm dedicating the "spare" Sundays for longer rides and will move my long runs to Saturday of the same weekend. (another time constraint with Little Athletics on again).

Post Marathon Musings

A couple of days in Melbourne for work provided an opportunity to sit back and reflect over the last couple of months and think about what I want to do going forwards. I've already identified that if I don't have a goal and an associated program I tend to wander and drift away from regular training (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

Before I get too much into that I have to say that I am amazed with the level of recovery I have had after Sunday. Not sure if it was the extra base, the sportskins, the opti or a combination of all three but the body feels so much better than the previous post marathon experiences. Very interesting..... maybe I just did not run hard enough on Sunday?

Knowing that the major goal early next year will be preparing and racing The Six Foot Track I am inclined to try and vary my schedule for a few months to freshen the body and mind before a very serious tilt at Six Foot which will require and intense running training effort over 4 months.

To this end I'm going to do a few different things for a while:
- step back (just a little) from full on running training and also racing most weekends
- embark on a cross training regime, still running (say 50-60km/week) but adding swimming and riding, as well as trying to reintroduce pilates and some core strength work

So a few things that I will be doing to try and keep some focus but freshen at the same time
- a triathlon or 2, have been planning and thinking about Nepean (sprint) and then the Canberra Half Iron Man for a while so time to step up to the plate publicly
- get back into the orienteering, which I really enjoy with the Summer Series looming
- and with an eye on testing the body and spirit for maybe attempting an ultra next year I'll be looking to enter the NSW 24 hour Rogaine Championships.

Should be fun! I'll probably also renovate the blog a bit to concide with the new regime. Fear not, I'm not going to the dark side, there'll still be heaps of running here and that is the main game, I'm actually still going to try and break 40 for 10km and 90 for the half by the end of the year as well :)

Sydney Marathon Race Report

How tough was that??



I was going to subtitle this report as "hot, humid and hilly" but got lost looking for a decent "h" word to describe wind.

An early start to the day and after parking the car at North Sydney we got down to the start line just in time, 6:30am, to watch the half marathon start in overcast and humid weather. We (wife, 2 eldest girls, sister in law and her partner, they were all running in the family fun run which was 3.8km) then found a few fellow Striders and CR's and set up camp while I went and picked up and dropped off various bits and pieces. Around this time it actually started to drizzle rain which I was actually quite pleased about as the previous day had been quite warm.

They called the marathon runners to the start and so I bade the family farewell and went and lined up. While we were waiting for the start it started raining properly. A few words from the obligitary politician and we were off. An early "highlight" of this run is the first km is an uphill climb to loop onto the Harbour Bridge. A magic feeling running across the bridge. The blue line from the Olympic marathon is still there in parts (and was so on quite a bit of the course) and so given this was the shortest/direct route I decided to follow it whenever possible. I was amazed to see most of the runners not doing so. Was running with Riz here but he drew away from me and I did not want to stretch out any faster at this point.

Across the Cahill Expressway, which we were to visit again 39km later and then into the back of the city and down to Mrs Macquaries Chair. Already the pacing seemed a little hard to monitor with undulations, combined with poor Garmin signal strength and seemingly inaccurate kilometer markers. At about the 3km mark the pacer with the red balloons (Sailaway??) ran past which was a little surprising as I thought he was the 3:15 pacer and I was ahead of 3:15 pace as evidenced by the 5km split 21:50!! (more like 3:00 pace)

I knew I would slow up a bit on the climb back out of Lady Macquarie's Chair and then it was also a bit of a climb up Oxford Street. The contrast of people still lined up to get back into nightclubs/discos and marathon runners moving past was quite comical, but even funnier was the cheer squad at the top of the hill of a heap of drag queens etc from the local gay bars. Felt a little happier about the pace at the 10km marker with 44:12 (22:22 5km)

The next 5km was through Anzac Parade and then around Centennial Park and this felt really comfortable (and uneventful) with the 15km aplit being 1:07:38 (23:26 5km).

Continuing the smooth running on the first out and back along Randwick Racecourse and I was quite surprised to catch and pass David Martin, a fellow Strider and much better runner than myself. This was a great section as I also got to see people both in front and behind me with the turnaround. Hit the 20km mark in 1:29:54 (22:16 5km).

A couple more little out and back loops included the halfway point (about 1:35 which was the target). Was a little surprised at the climb back up Anzac Parade but then the run down through the centre of the city was good being mostly downhill. Through here another Strider Barry Rutter caught up to me, we had a bit of a chat while running along Pitt Street and then I let him slowly draw away. Through here the Garmin had no chance but I also missed a few km markers.

As soon as I hit the Western Distributor I was worried, it had become noticeably warmer, with no clouds now, and there was a nice (read nasty) little headwind as well. Around here while keeping Barry in sight I started passing a few runners including Riz, Nando who seemed to be struggling and then Sailaway, looked like the 3:15 bunch had burst. It seemed again that the markers were not all there, which made it hard to work out splits, and I was now walking through the drink stops drinking 2 cups and then another over the head. By the next km the cap was completely dry again and the wind and heat were taking their toll. To make things worse the looong climb up to Norton Street really hammered the legs (and the mind).

It was great then to see fellow coolrunner plu there and muttered several curses about the hill. Even though I was slowing I was not overly concerned as I seemed to be about the same proportion of time behind some of the faster runners that I saw comning back from the turnaround. Saw Action at the turn around. Enjoyed the cruise back down the hill but then the ups and downs through Pyrmont really slowed me down.

Caught Mohammed along Hickson Rd and then set about "the climb", forget a single sniper on "the grassy knoll" I reckon it was more like a machine gun nest as a lot of people were struggling here. I succumbed to walking for about 100m on the steep bit up from Argyle street and then it was downhill (well sort of) to the finish.

The CR cheer squad was superb, it really picked me up and I actually caught and passed a few more people in those last couple of km. Again the reception from the crowd at the finish was great.

Finished up with 3:25:05, not a PB but I am actually happy with the run. Clearly the back half had a high attrition rate on the runners with lots of slowing down, will not be a pretty analysis of positive splits of first vs second half times.

Legs actually feel pretty good, whacked the skins on to go home and also downed some opti. A day later and I am very impressed hopefully the legs are feeling so good because of my recovery efforts rather than not having gone hard enough.

Having the family there meant not a lot of chatting/socialising but it was great to cheer Horrie and Belinda as we were moving the troops home.

Maybe more thoughts later, time to go introspective for a day or 2 and cement into place some plans/goals for the future.

Last run and pre marathon thoughts

A very easy cruise around the neighbourhood today, a beautiful day and lots of lorikeets etc flying around chirping. I ended up back at the park opposite home and did 6 x 100m strides just to stretch the legs out a bit further.

Stats 7.3km in 35:55 (avg pace 4:55 avg HR 159).

Now for a massage today to clear out any kinks, then more carbs and more water. I've decided not to run tomorrow, no need instead I'll enjoy the first day of Little Athletics with my 2 girls.

I have been getting increasingly distracted with thinking about Sunday. Some would call it focus, others, fixation, I think my wife would call it obsession :). In particular ideas on pacing are forefront in my mind.

To remind myself (publicly) back in May I wrote "However I do want to run this marathon so that I can finish strongly and so the end goal must be achievable so I don't race off and go out too hard (again)!". Certainly I built a better base, although the last 6 weeks have seen a drift away from targetted milage, more to do with racing every weekend (which has it's own benefits) but also from some niggles and lack of motivation. I truly believe I am in better shape today than I was 2 days out from Canberra. The weight has not dropped off as much as I thought it would but I have lost another couple of cm from the waist so it must have shifted to muscle in the legs.

So for Sydney I have a few different types of goals
- disappointed if I don't break 3:22:01 (pb)
- aiming for sub 3:15
- dreaming for 3:10

I've decided to go out at 4:30 pace which if I run evenly the whole way will see 3:10. Given the nature of the course after about 5km I may try and go a few seconds faster as it is pretty flat for around 20km. Then it will be a case of trying to hold the pace and/or minimise slowdown as the harder last 10km comes into play.

To compare against Canberra, I went out at 4:25 pace from the start (3:06 Marathon time) and died pretty spectactularly at around 30km. The aim will be to get to halfway in around 95 minutes (2 minutes slower than Canberra) which gives me 5 minutes of slowdown on the back half of the course up my sleeve.

Thanks to all the positive comments from those that have been reading my ramblings they do make a difference when things seem a little bleak or when the niggles are affecting the running.

A deep breath now, remembering to focus on relaxed running, restrain my enthusiasm in the first 5km and be confident about having a good base to support me in the last 10km.

Next blog will be post race.

3 more sleeps

A day of rest today.

Already starting to eat extra carbs and drink more water.

A light run tomorrow with some strides at the end and then a massage at lunch time.

Dress rehearsal

The program calls for 11km today but with a portion at Marathon Pace. Also to dress as you would for the race, ie racing shoes etc. I decided to head on my usual run to the weir and back. A 3km warm up and then into pace which just happens to be about 2/3 down Scribbly's. It was a little cool this morning and I was just wearing the CR singlet and shorts. Coming in close to the weir I saw MPHaz headed in the other direction, fully rugged up, even with a beanie on!

Coming back the 5km section at pace ends about 1/3 up Scribbly so I was really pushing to hold pace until the Garmin said enough. Right at the end I again saw Marty who had run to the top and was coming down and told me to ease up!

A nice cruise home, still a little niggle in the core muscles area but I seem to be managing it ok.

Stats 11.1km in 52:46 (avg pace 4:45, avg HR 161)

Tapering

Short and sweet.

8km easy in 38:35 so 4:48 min/km. Felt good, a little scary that this is a recovery run and I took it easy but still ended up fairly close to marathon pace.

The head is getting sorted and I think I have hatched a pacing strategy but it will probably change 100 times between now and 7:15am Sunday.

Fathers Day catch up

Thursday : In Melbourne and slept in so missed out on early run

Friday : More slackness, after getting back late from Melbourne and attending a Striders meeting then catching up on work

Saturday : Striders 10km @ North Head
I had pretty much decided to run this as a tempo type run with the more important true race a week away. Significant hassles with the electronic timing system ensured no warm up so probably a good thing I was not going to go all out.

It was very hard to watch the usual suspects slowly pull away from me but at around 3km another coolrunner Riz caught up, he was in a similar position and so we decided to run together. I'm sure some of the runners around us may have been a little annoyed as they were at full 10km race pace and Riz and I were cruising and having a bit of a chat.

Ended up with 43:35, feeling very comfortable.

Sunday : Spent the Saturday night at my parents in Gosford for Fathers Day and as usual dad and I raided his old stock in his cellar for a few good drinking old reds. This and fathers day presents and rain made it too easy not to run.

Got home after lunch and the rain had stopped so I went out for a last longer run. A good undulating 18km in 1:25 which is about 4:43 pace and included about 10km @ 4:30 pace. A slight niggle from the groin area which has been pretty quiet but I'm onto that.

Thats it for long runs, the body is as ready as possible. Working on the mind now and a bit of sharpening in the last week.

Last day of winter??

Hard to believe, given the temperature today. A simple 8km recovery run on my loop through East Ryde and Ryde Common. For some reason I struggled to feel comfortable, everything felt ok just felt average at the pace I was running.

Stats 8.5km in 42:54 (avg pace 5:05, avg HR 163)

Maybe it was the increase in temperature....

Vo2 Max

Main part of the run today was 3 x 1600 @ 5km Race Pace with min recovery. Initially I was going to go down to Rotary to do this but time conspired against me so it was around the corner instead to the gym and treadmill.

After a couple ok km to warm/loosen up turned up the volume and speed and set off. The first rep seemed to go on for ever and then it was only 2 minutes before I was off again! Towards the end of the second rep I started to flag a little and the HR really did not come down enough before the rest was gone again! Tough going here and I managed to grit the teeth to hold on for the km at least, looking back I may have been able to go further but probably not the full extra 600m!

A good warm down and jog back home. The calves actually felt great, so big tick to the witch doctor, however the next weakest link is shins and they copped a bit of a hammering towards the end. I did get to try out my early Fathers Day pressie wearing them under my work clothes and they do seem to have made a difference.

That was the last real hard session scheduled by Pfitzinger, just Saturday left for any real intensity, other than that some recovery runs and stride sessions till next Sunday.

Witch Doctor visit

Around the corner (well and down the road) to teh witch doctor this morning. He is very handy and also is available early in the morning which makes it easier to fit into the schedule.

A quick chat about my calves seemingly now made from concrete and also my suspicion about my pelvis being out of alignment. A quick prod and poke and he agreed and went to work. A few pins in the lower left back to release some of the tigh muscles there and then he went to work on the calves. Fair dinkum, it felt like he was jamming knitting needles in instead of accupuncture pins. He agreed that they were "very" tight.

After a pleasant half an hour lying there with pins inserted he came back and then gave the lower back/pelvic area a good readjustment and then also wanted to have a go at the mid back area, just below the shoulder blades. Wow, there was some tension build up there.

Now the calves are tight from the treatment but that wears off, the left hammie feels perfect and he reckons I'm ready to roll!

Thanks for the opinions on the Striders 10km race guys, I have to admit I'm leaning towards going for it. As someone else has mentioned to me, if you are doing some speedwork in the taper the chances of hurting something is just as great as doing the 10km race. Lets see how the week and training unfolds.

Airport Adrenaline Adventure

After the success of yesterday back to a longer run today and this is the last true "long" run before Sydney. I decided to run with the 6:20 gang, I know the people that run this a bit better than the group from 6:10 today. Also knowing the course being very flat early it would be a good fast work out, famous last words.

Off at a good clip with myself and Sawdust on the front for the first couple of km. Then as we rounded the corner near Cooks River for the long run along Botany Bay the pace picked up. Along here Andrew T, and then Luke Skyrunner and Silver Fox all joined in, not much of a 6:30 group it seems. Not paying a lot of attention to the Garmin but knew we were moving fairly fast.

Finally near Dolls Point a drink stop and I checked the avg pace and it was sub 4:30!! I decided to let them go if this continues but held contact over the river and into Sylvannia, but then let them go. By the time we got to the short cut I was still in contact and we had covered 16km at 4:30 min/km avg pace. The legs were starting to feel either the 5km yesterday or more likely still trying to recover from W2B and while some of the guys were trying to read a map I slipped ahead for a while :).

Out of interest I checked on the Garmin as I went through 21.1 km and it was 97 minutes. That was enough for me as I eased off a little further and got back for 25.5km in a smidge over 2 hours, which gave a avg pace all up of 4:45 min/km and avg HR of 163.

Both calves are again tight, but not painfully tight. Pretty happy with this run, even if I did ease up a little. Now for the all important 2 week taper/sharpen, currently looking for this week like:

Monday - Rest/Witch Doctor
Tuesday - VO2 Max session, 13km including 3 x 1600 @ 5km pace
Wednesday - Recovery 8km
Thursday - Recovery & Speed, 13km with 8 x 100 strides
Friday - Recovery 8km
Saturday - Striders 10km (not sure if I'll "race" this)
Sunday - Fathers Day!! Medium run around 20km

The key question is whether I should go 100% next Saturday for maybe another 10km PB or even (maybe) sub 40 or if I should run it at Marathon Pace (perhaps do the 45 min pacemaking duties)

Turnaround!

Well after pretty much deciding at the time of yesterday's blog not to run the CR 5km challenge the body seemed to improve and last night I laid out the gear with the aim of being ready to go if I felt I was ok. Up this morning and decided to head over, do a warm up and see how everything went.

The warm up felt good and so next step was to front up at the 20 minute group. Had already decided to go out hard and see how long I could hang on. A much smaller 20 minute group with Mr G, Horrie and a female I have not seen before. She asked if we were going to run even 4 min k's and Horrie said it was unlikely with me there leading out!

Off we went and I immediately slipped into a good pace. With the work council is doing in the first km it was a bit of to and fro between road and footpath, I also could sense Mr G running just behind my shoulder. After the first km I settled down a little and I think Horrie cruised up to just behind me through here as I went wide and he stayed close to the bay at the divided section near the 2km mark.

Caught up to Eagle and Queen B not long after this and felt I was still running smoothly through the 3km mark. A few hundred metres further and Boof cruised by but I was also still catching some more front markers. Just after the 4km mark Coaster came past and I managed to hold him at around 10 metres for about 400 metres, about 200 metres out from the line Sparkie went screaming past and then I was there, thank goodness!

Splits
1km 3:44 3:44
2km 3:49 7:33
3km 3:54 11:27
4km 3:54 15:21
5km 3:56 19:17

I had deliberately not looked up my 5km PB but knew I was close. Upon checking at home it was 19:15, set in March, between 6ft and Canberra. While slightly disappointed not to go 3 seconds faster I am actually pretty happy with the run given I was not even going to have a go 24 hours earlier.

A good form guide which, given the circumstances should bode well for Sydney. I'm now pretty positive that I could break 19 minutes if I focus on some quality speed work now I have a better base.

Tomorrow is the STaR near the Airport, I'm aiming for around 25km and it is a nice flat course, the shortcut removing the nasty hill. Might even give the new Trances a hit out after the excellent work done today by the new Racer ST's (the old ones are retired after 520km, pretty good for a race shoe)

Recovered?

The head and throat felt a little better this morning so I laced up the shoes and headed out. Just aiming to run to the weir and back. Took a while to warm up and did not feel smooth or comfortable on the way down. A bit of a struggle back up Scribblys and back home, time of 55 minutes for the 11km, not as fast as recently but I let the body direct the pace.

Certainly Willy to Billy still is in the legs and the head felt ok but may have been why I was still a little sluggish. After I've cooled down the previously blogged tight right calf is tight, along with the left hamstring. I'll see how they travle through the day but I would say it is now unlikely that I'll front up for the CR 5km challenge, preferring to let the legs recover a bit more and the run about 25km at the STaR on Sunday.

As a precaution I have a witch doctor appointment for Monday.

Recovery??

The legs were a bit smashed fron Willy to Billy. Had a massage from a new guy who was quite good but that RH calf has them all beat. He went back to it twice and still could not crack the concrete :)

A little bit better yesterday but work and other committments conspired to keep me away from my new shoes. The old Trances have gone to 1100km and 600km respectively and I reckon the older ones have been part of the cause of the increased lower leg niggles of late.

This morning had a medium long run scheduled but woke up with a sore throat and head congestion. I hope it is not vat_man's flu. At least the legs are back in teh land of the living!

Recap

The last 4 weeks have been pretty hectic running wise (well ok in general). A quick recap/summary as I am now in the final stages of sharpening and then tapering for Sydney.

4 races in 4 weeks
Sutherland to Surf (11km) 45:05 (debut and so also a pb)
Striders Lane Cove (10km) 40:28 pb
City to Surf (14km) 58:57 pb
Willy to Billy (35km) 3:02:29 pb

This program has certainly affected my ability to try and stick to the Pfitzinger program with assorted niggles and tiredness reducing my training effectiveness. From here it is 3 weeks of focus solely back on marathon prep.

Willy to Billy race report

Up early and eating up to load some fuel, given the time from leaving home to actually starting I also packed some provisions. James C, a fellow Strider had organised for us to share the car up and when he arrived we were off. Along the drive it rained, sometimes heavily which was not a good sign, but by the time we got to Bilpin, no rain and in fact some blue sky.

Dropped the car and boarded the shuttle bus to Mt Wilson, a host of Striders and CR on board. Upon arrival I opted to line up for a final tilt at the facilities and then caught up with a heap of the usual suspects and also participated in a few group photos.

Last year I ran this of a somewhat low base and did 3:18:11 and was hoping/aiming to break 3 hours this time round. A few quick speeches from the local hosts and we were off. I was going to try and run around 5 min/km pace, hoping to make some inroads on the long downhill and then hold it together on the climb to bring it home.

Despite my best efforts to rein in the enthusiasm I went out a little too hard and also the fairly vicious sharp climbs early on were taking their toll. So I decided to walk the steeper sections but attack the technical downhills to try and equalise time.

This resulted in quite a seesaw type battle with a few people, them passing me up and me likewise down. Of some concern through here I noticed that my RH ankle tendonitis was starting to become sore so I also focussed on how I was running uphill (if I was).

After a while the sharp climbs became a little less frequent and I started to get into a good rhythm. In particular there was a section of singletrack that I really enjoyed and really attacked with an open track in front of me for a while, and recatching a few people who had drawn clear.

The Garmin was proving next to useless with more lost signal time than actual tracking. Thankfully the course was well marked and I hit the 15km mark pretty bang on 1:15 so averaging 5 min/km like the plan. The next section of the course is pretty flat as we run along a sealed road for quite a few km and with not many people in sight it was a challenge to maintain pace. At the 20km mark my split was 1:38 so I had picked up a bit ahead of the downhill.

This piece seemed to go on for ever, and I believe that probably about 2/3 of the way down I dropped off the pace a little as a few people who were just ahead of me slowly pulled away. Still I got to the bottom and river crossing with a split of 2:11 and then the challenge was to try and efficiently get up the other side. While it was tough I was making ok progress through to the first hairpin, when I turned the corner though I realised why as I hit the headwind. MikeF caught up here, we ran together for a while and then he pulled clear at the drinks station at the next hairpin.

Here the course gives some respite with about 1km of flatter running before heading up again. When we started slimbing again it was tougher and through here Barry R (another Strider) went past, only 4km to go but I was struggling.

A few more went past including 2 females who were flying! Finally got to the Bells Line Road and then tried to grind out the last 1.5km at a somewhat decent pace.

Ended up just outside of the sub 3 hour goal with 3:02:29 which is still a 15:42 PB from last year. In talking with others I really did die in that last 4km as Barry R finished with 2:58:xx meaning he put around 4 minutes into me over 4km!

The legs were pretty beat up and certainly some concern re the RH ankle again although it seems to be better after ice than how it felt 2 weeks ago. Indulged in a leg massage and enjoyed a couple of brews courtesy of Blue Dog and Sarge before watching the presentation and then driving home.

Tough going

Thursday was supposed to be a medium long run but I was knackered from the trip down in Melbourne and just was not going to get out of bed so opted for an afternoon run instead. I kinked my neck last week and just as it was recovering managed to do the same again yesterday and it is becoming quite frustrating as well.

Got home, laced up and headed out, the lh hammie is still a bit tight and shins also felt sore. Ended up doing my 14.5km loop but the whole run felt like a struggle, maybe the C2S and then the 1km rep session catching up on me?

Stats 14.5km in 1:09:41 (avg pace 4:48, avg HR 163) so a good pace even if I felt crappy.

This morning was again a struggle to get up and there is still some tightness in the body so with a 35km race tomorrow I wimped out and decided for a rest day. Seems to be a trend for me recently but I'm hoping the quality I have put in for the base miles, coupled with some good races and speed sessions will hold me in good stead. Also going back to the accupuncture clinic today after consuming another dose of that hideous ginger broth last night. Hopefully she can do something for the neck, the good news is not a peep from the achilles so that seems to be fixed!

Sweathog

After the success from yesterday back into the serious schedule today which means speed.

Down to the nearest Fitness First near my hotel in Melbourne for a menu of 1km reps. After the last attempt at this I decided to set the pace at 3:55 min/km and see how I went. To my amazement I knocked out 8 reps and was still going ok so notched the pace up to 3:50 for the last 2. So this gave me 10km in 39 minutes and the old rule of thumb was this type of session (with a standing rest of half the run time) was a good yardstick on a 10km time.

After looking back through my previous sessions this looks like my best ever session and it did not turn out to be a "stretcher" session! Maybe the treadmill was not calibrated right I don't know....

Did manage to pick up a slight blister on the top of the ankle, medium/long run tomorrow morning (back home!)

Oh and the sweathog title comes from the absolute drenching I gave the treadmill and the fact that I hogged it for 75 minutes :)

Down by the river

Work drags me back to Melbourne again and so I lined up to do a recovery style run along the Bike Paths next to the Yarra River. A beautiful morning (almost as good as the average Sydney morning) and I headed up stream, dodging the rowing coaches on bikes while hoping the other cyclists would miss me.

Turned around at Chapel Street Bridge and headed back on the North Bank. Initially the hammies and calves/shins were a little tight but after warming up I was pretty happy with the recovery from Sunday.

Stats
9.5km in 47:16 (avg pace 4:59 and avg HR 155)

City to Surf race report

Time for a benchmark test against last year and also to really celebrate my 2nd year of running. I did the City to Surf in 2003 with a mate, I thought I was pretty fit then having done some Orienteering for a while and even run a Striders 10km race or 2 earlier in the year. But my first C2S was an eye opener, running in 74:34 and absolutely knackered (barely able to walk the next day). To make it worse, my mate who was not running at all (but mountain biking) beat me by 4 minutes. At that point I resolved to get fitter and around 6 weeks later joined the Striders MTG with Canberra as the goal.

Last year, after slacking off through winter I posted 61:37 while on the upswing of training again. So this year I was already 2 minutes faster over 10km at around the same time so 59:xx seemed logical but 58:xx would be better.

Lobbed up to the line aroun 7:45am and there were a few of the crowd there already. Settled in with MPHaz, Podrunner, Mohammed, Tesso, Blue Dog, Minersrun, Dash Incredible Uncle Dave (robin) and RunningWolf (spiderman)(I know I've missed others but memory is shot). Not too chilly and varied between standing and sitting to avoid seizing up too much. They rolled the preferred runners in about 10m in front of us and then as a group we then rolled further forward behind the seeded runners. By then I was mingling with the preferred runners and only 5m from the front!

They stuffed around with the start procedure and then without any warning we had started! The first 100m was a little chaotic but then I got into some clear space. Staying on the right hand side meant the right tunnel, the lead pack went left. I felt a little uncomfortable through here, probably partly from no warm up and partly from not being able to clear the bladder before the start. After the tunnel a few lunatics hurdled the barriers to join the left hand stream which I think provided no benefit, one guy turned and darted right in front of me just about colliding with me and coping a few choice words.

Caught up to Dash Incredible going up Edgecliffe hill (he took off very quickly) and had a few Striders who are faster then me also come through including 26miles and Kanagra who I found out afterwards had a fall early. Settled down into a steady pace, partly fueled by adrenaline. Through the next couple of km I ran just behind a few Striders who again I normally am a little further away from. The 5km split according to Garmin was 20:01, a little bit faster than planned and I knew HBH might hurt if I used too much too early so eased up a little through Rose Bay to recompose for the climb.

The climb was not too bad Sarge went past a 2nd time (had stopped off for a nature break) and then also MikeF near the top. I held onto Mike for a little while but slipped a little near the drinks stop. Around here Tuttle I think caught up to me just at the turn south but that was the end of the upslope and I opened up the legs on the downslope. Through the 10km mark in 42:26 which was close to my expectations. The turns and undulations through here I had forgotten about and I obviously slowed a little (after looking at splits).

Then it was time for downhill, I am a little disappointed as to how I went here, normally passing a few more people than I did so the body was probably a little stretched. Noticed today that the hammies were very tight but the quads were very fresh, interesting to contrast against the Sutherland to Surf with the opposite feeling.

As I was coming down into Bondi and past the CR cheersquad (thanks guys!) I caught up to RunningWolf in his spiderman suit and then it was on for young and old over that tough last km. I knew I had sub 60 in the bag and was an outside chance for breaking 59. Rounded the hairpin and opened up the legs, about 200m later I realised I had gone too soon and fellow Strider Mark S went past, exactly the same as last year! Somehow managed to keep some sort of pace going and watching the clock, pretty sure that it just ticked over 59 as I went underneath but kept sprinting to the first empty time gate and got given a 58:57 time slip, happy days. Then remembered to hit the stopwatch which showed 59:10.

So a 2:40 pb and a very happy chappy. 2 PB's in 2 weeks and all off a base with minimal speedwork. Also very happy that the suspect achilles pain did not surface and so back into the proper schedule this week. Somehow I had it in my head that Willy to Billy was on Sunday but it's on Saturday so a shuffle of the schedule likely. Only 4 weeks to go and I know there is some pretty intense sessions coming up to sharpen that base up for Sydney.

Stats
14km in 58:57 (avg pace 4:13 and avg HR 176)