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)

Paranoia???

The mind is a wonderful thing. I swear that I was getting all sorts of wierd feelings in my right leg, fearing stress fractures or something like that.

That coupled with some high powered strategic meetings at work conspired to prevent running Tues and Wed. With the much publicised cold snap and fatigue I was not going to climb out of bed this morning either.

So this afternoon I bit the bullet and headed out, half expecting the achilles to snap or something just around the corner. Just down to the weir and back but felt pretty (well very good) and very happy to be out running (I only had 3 days off!!)

11km in 52:52 (avg 4:48 and avg HR 163)

Ice tonight and a more intense session I think for the morning.

Oh and thanks for all the comments, it really does pick up the spirits.

Name that tendon

After Sunday I've been icing and applying gel to the achilles area.

On Monday it seemed the pain had mostly gone away, until I started walking too far. Managed to get in to see the physio at short notice. Observations were :

- calf muscles still bloody tight, even after the massage last week and accupuncture

- very hard to generate any pain, doing calf raises or things like that

- only seemed to be able to get pain when pushing off big toe

So diagnosis is tendonitis of the Flexor Hallucis Longus which can also be associated with shin splints (aha) and maybe even stress fractures.

So I opted out of running this morning after more ice and voltaren last night. The leg has been feeling a little funny today, sort of like a hot flash sensation sometimes. I'll see how it feels tomorrow and might head out for a shorter recovery style run and see what happens.

Cherrybrook STaR

Another early morning and even more frost on the windscreen this morning as winter finally decides to show up, just before spring. Up to Cherrybrook for what is traditionally a tough STaR. The 6:10 group was pretty big today. With quite a few refugees from the 6:20 group also joining in it was no surprise to see some of the other regular 6:20'ers earlier as it would have been a pretty small bunch.

In the group were Spud, Langswm and co (Langswd??) and Kev Tiller. Sawdust caught up pretty shortly and we had a good group going up through Cumberland Forrest and then out along through Cherrybrook. The RH achilles was twinging a bit right from the start, something I just put down to the cold and the hard workout from yesterday. A pretty good pace along here and then down into the bush to Berowra Creek and then up the brutal hill to the pony club. Through here the rh achilles really started to complain and so I eased up headed up the hill. Once we reached level ground it was obvious that I was still going to struggle a little, but I pressed on hoping it would clear up.

By the next set of hills it was very obvious that it was not going to clear up so discretion instead of valour was adopted and I took all available shortcuts to get back to the start. Each upslope meant a quick shuffle or walking and when I got back I tried stretching which was not good. Had a quick chat and headed home for ice and voltaren.

Still did around 22km (still to download from Garmin) and even ended up averaging 5:30 pace which is more a testament to the faster pace at the start rather than me keeping going coming home.

Got home and iced up but also noticed I seemed quite crappy generally, dropping into a snooze on the lounge. Even had an afternoon sleep as well but feel better for it now. It seems the 10km maybe took a bit more out yesterday than I though, even though I was feeling and running good for the first 15 or so km.

Rest day tomorrow will see how the heel pulls up before jumping to any conclusions. What a contrast in 2 days, the highs and lows of running....

Race report Lane Cove 10km

Up with the sparrows and it is bloody cold, with a frost on the windscreen. Driving down to the park the temp sensor in the car reads 2 degrees. The light is getting better but it was hard to set up the timing system with gloves on. After fiddling around for a while with the new setup it was time for a quick warmup. I decided to run with the green lycra t-shirt I got from the US a while ago under the Striders singlet, along with Kathmandu polypro gloves and the CR cap.

I had decided before the race to try and run close to 4:05 pace with a goal of getting to 5km in around 20:25 and see what happens coming home. In the past I have gone close to this at 5km but always struggled home downhill and dropped off the pace.

The first few km were at a steady pace and coming down from Scribbly's I caught MikeF which was a tad surprising. Kept the pace going to the bottom of the hill. Rather than busting a boiler on the hill I decided to try and tempo run up and keep a little in reserve. A few went past here, including MikeF. After turning at the top I opened up and pretty much passed everyone back again.

I settled into a small group or runners including Danielle, MikeF, John VY and another female Strider that seemed familiar but I could not place. I usually did not run with these guys in a 10km race. Coming back at different points each of us was a little stronger and surged a little. I had stopped looking at the splits, just focussing on form and breathing. The last hill (at about 1.5km) slowed me up a little and Danielle L pulled away with John VY.

As we hit the 1km mark the unknown female strider drew up next to me and said, lets go, it's a fast last km. I could not match her but managed to stay in contact. MikeF then cruised past and gave me some encoragement, he certainly has better baseline speed than I do. I held the female strider in check but could not close the gap. Sprinted to the line and with no race clock really had no idea as to what time I really did.

After regaining somewhat normal breathing the garmin said 40:28 which mean around a 45 second PB!!!

I found out afterwards that the unknown strider was Jenny W, one of our best females over longer distances and obviously on the comeback after a recent child birth.

Splits were

1km 3:56 3:56
2km 4:01 7:57
3km 4:02 11:59
4km 4:03 16:02
5km 4:25 20:27
6km 4:01 24:28
7km 4:01 28:29
8km 4:00 32:29
9km 4:10 36:39
10km 3:49 40:28

Finally a significant improvement on the 10km time, very encouraging given that I have been doing mostly base work with not much speed. Makes thinking interesting for the City to Surf next week.

Down time

After Wednesday's run the schedule called for a recovery run with some Strides for Thursday and then a recovery run for Friday. Still concerned about calves and went for a deep tissue massage on Wed afternoon. I reckon it was debatable as to what hurt the most, my calves or the masseurs thumbs :).

From there Thursday morning calves felt better but the LHS piriformis and hammie were tight so I opted out from rnning. Friday for some reason I was just tired in the morning and for a change could not get off work early to run in the evening so in a way an enforced taper for the 10km tomorrow.

Misty Morning

A little cooler this morning and there was a fine mist/fog in the Lane Cove National Park valley as I ran down to the weir. Not a soul in sight through the park, other than the usual 2 power walkers that I see pretty much every time I run through in the early mornings.

Back along the bike path from Macquarie Centre to Quarry Rd and added the diversion in through East Ryde so I could do my "favourite" Pittwater Road climb at the end. For a change my right achilles got a little tight about halfway through, other than that a good stretch out, nice undulating course (sporttracks says climb/fall of 100m) at a pretty good pace.

Stats 21.5km in 1:43:35 (avg pace 4:49, avg HR 158).

Shorter run tomorrow with some 100m strides, a recovery run on Friday and then much interest in the 10km Striders race at Lane Cove.

First legs, now lungs...

Time to up the ante on how fast my legs can go. After building the base for the last 6 to 8 weeks attention now swings to VO2 type training rather than aerobic. After the CR5km challenge on Saturday it was obvious the ability for top line speed over shorter distances has declined.

After last week's 1km rep session which was only so so in terms of previous efforts today called for 500m reps. I decided to back off the pace a little with the goal of doing 10 x 500 @ 3:30 min/km pace. This was a tad slower than efforts earlier in the year where I did 8 x 500 @ 3:25.

I had forgotten how intense these 500m reps were, the last few really made me work and I had to cut short the 10th and last rep as I was sure I was just about to chuck.

Pretty happy to knock this over, hopefully will have an effect on the coming races in the next few weeks. Coupled with warmup/down (6km @ 5:00) a good session. Longer run tomorrow again.

July Summary

Wow, a pretty big month!

Around 100km more than I have run in a month before. Pretty happy overall, stuck as close as possible to the schedule, dropped a couple of recovery days and I think 1 or 2 more serious sessions due to niggles but felt this was warranted.

The body is holding up pretty well and now comes some faster stuff and more races over August, well lots with SS 10km, City to Surf and Willy to Billy in the next 3 weeks and then the taper starts.

Highlights - consistent training at a level I have not done before, especially compared to last year when I went into mid winter hibernation

Lowlights - maybe not as much speed as I would have liked and also some lack of confidence over potential injuries

Total for month 402km, average pace of 5:05 min/km

Balmain Bungle STaR

Last time I ran this was in January. A good group for 6:10 after big 6:00 and 6:05 groups. The first 10km of this run is through the maze of small streets on the Balmain penninsula and the pace was on early, thankfully settling down after we "lost" some of the faster guys.

As we headed through Leichhardt we kept a more even tempo and the real fast guys came through here, dropping Luke Skyrunner off to run with us. As we neared Cooks River we stopped for water and the 6:20 group cruised past. We tagged along, just off the back and as we crossed a wooden bridge over Cooks River I nearly came a gutsa on slippery wooden planks.

A real good tempo along the river and then through Ashfield and back to the bay. As we got the to bay we got caught up with the tail end of the Bay Run race. I was now pretty much shot and dodged a lot of walkers to get back to the finish. Thankfully no rain this time but a bit slower than January. I'd put this down to much fresher legs back then. Some good tempo running in the middle section.

Stats 30.4km in 2:31:10 (avg pace 4:59 and avg HR 158)

End of week

Friday 29/7
A funny session scheduled today, a 16km recovery run? Anyway opted out of a morning run and took advantage of a afternoon meeting to get home a little earlier and head out. One of my stock standard courses for this, but for these Friday afternoon runs I always seem to feel fresh and this was no excepttion. Held myself back with tomorrow in mind but still ran well.

14.3km in 1:09:07 (avg pace 4:50 and avg hr 161) so a little short but I think achieved the intent.

Saturday 20/7
CR 5km Challenge
As I posted on CR, no real expectations given my diet of long runs and pretty much no speed work for some time. Decided to head out with the 20 minute bunch, a couple of guys shot out pretty fast and I loitered behind professor for the first km. Kept the pace going in the 2nd km but started to struggle as Don Juan drew up and then went past just at the 3km mark. Colin did likewise just before 4km and I tried to hold him in reach as I struggled home.

Did not look at my splits at all druing the run but they were
1km 3:49 3:49
2km 3:50 7:39
3km 3:58 11:37
4km 4:01 15:38
5km 4:00 19:38
23 seconds outside my PB but nothing left on the course and I'm sure once I start sharpening the base I've been building things will happen.

Weekly summary
89km for the week, with only the Monday session missed and not doing the STaR so that seems ok. I've started using SportTracks which is a freeware training log that is compatible with the Garmin. It is better than the Traiing Centre software supplied by Garmin and tells me that my weekly average pace was 4:58 for those 89km. The much discussed Parrot Predictor indicates a 3:03:55 potential marathon time. Amazing what happens to that with a race or 2 and a speed session!

So 6 weeks to go and it will be hectic with pretty much a race every weekend from now till Sept 11, but no real tapering as the end game stays in play. These include the Striders Lane Cove 10km, City to Surf, Willy to Billy, another CR 5km and another Striders 10km!!!

Google Earth route of Chatswood Chase

Nifty new toy!

Chatswood Chase

Medium long run time today and I decided to use another STaR route that pretty much goes past the front door. This time it is the Chatswood Chase. From home down and across Epping Rd, all the way up Mowbray Rd to the Highway and keep on climbing all the way up to Killara. From there a nice descent down through West Lindfield and all the way to LCNP, cross the weir, up to Ryde Rd and then back home with an extension along Cox's Rd.

The legs certainly felt last nights session and the groin area was also a little niggly, once I got going though and warmed up everything seemed ok.

The stats 23.2km in 1:56:52 which gives avg pace of 5:02 and avg HR of 159. Another good hard longer run with plenty of hills!

A longer recovery run scheduled for tomorrow and then some more speed on Saturday with the CR 5km challenge!

Sharpen up

Pfitzinger's schedule now calls for VO2Max type training and gues what, this means intervals. After a failed attempt to get up early this sees me headed off to the gym to run on the treadmill for the first time in a while. The program called for 5 x 1200 @ 5km race pace with 2:30 rest. I decided to "modify" this a little and do 1000m reps.

My 5km pace is roughly 3:50 and this is what I have done these before at.About halfway through the third rep I was really struggling and so stopped then I realised that I had also lifted the slope of the treadmill by a couple of degrees and that probably had an effect. Determined to continue I dropped the slope back down but also eased the pace a little to 4:00 min/km and kept going.

Finished with 7 x 1km reps and a 5km warm up/down. Was really trashed after this, a good session but it was obvious I have not done one like this for a while.

Catch up time

Wow a lot of things happening at the moment, new computer, business travel, more niggles, a race etc etc so here's a summary of the last week.

Thursday 21
Right hand shin/tendon was still quite sore so I opted for a rest day rather than a recovery run to try and give it a chance to heal.

Friday 22
This was going to be a hard day with 18km in corporating 10km @ HMP, was not happy with the recovery on the right hand lower leg and so decided discretion would be better and rested another day.

Saturday 23
Wanted to give the legs a bit of a hit out before the race tomorrow so did a 8km run but not flat out. Things felt ok so all systems go for Sutherland to Surf, at least I'll be a bit fresher with a mini taper in the last day or 2.

Sunday 24 - Sutherland to Surf race
A great day to run! A bit cold when departing home and got down to near the golf club to meet up with Horrie and Superflake. A few crossed wired saw no Horrie (sorry mate!) but we picked up Sportsman for a car shuffle to Sutherland.

Quite a crowd at the start but I missed a lot of people while I was waiting in the long toilet lines. Lined up at the start with vat_man, Horrie and professor and we must have had the worst position. It took about the first km to be able to run freely for me, worse than the C2S start last year!

Finally got going and caught and went past Horrie at about 2km, Professor and Sportsman (running injured I think) at around 5km. Was not really focussing on splits at all and had no real expectations as to a finish time other than around 45 minutes.

Although the upslopes surprised a little (including that last little bugger) in general they were pretty gradual which suited me.

After I crossed the line finally looked at my time and it was 45:05 so pretty close to the mark. Had a bit of a chat with the usual suspects, looked around for Action etc to run back but missed them so headed off with vat_man back along the course. When we got to Miranda (where vat parked) he did not need to offer twice for a lift the rest of the way back, thanks!!

Splits details were
1km 4:19 4:19
2km 3:34 7:53
3km 3:39 11:32
4km 3:47 15:19
5km 4:12 19:31
6km 4:06 23:37
7km 4:07 27:44
8km 4:19 32:03
9km 4:17 36:20
10km 4:06 40:26
11km 4:18 44:44
?? 0:21 45:05

So a new 10km split PB but will not be recorded. The niggly lower legs complained a little to begin (lack of a warm up), were ok in the race, but then did not like the concept of running back after cooling down for a little while. All up 18km for the day.

Monday 25
A Sunday night flight down to Melbourne and drive to Geelong coupled with a 7am breakfast meeting conspired to keep me from running. By the time all my scheduled meetings had finished for the day it was dark, and also raining, enough motivation not to run given I have not run in Geelong before. Legs pulled up pretty well, upper quads are tight, everything else (niggles included) felt pretty good.

Tuesday 26
Another early start for work but was up earlier and went out for an hour. Everything was still a little tight after Sunday but after a couple of km came good. Soon after a very nice rainstorm (not) swept in from the bay and I got absolutely drenched. 11km in total. Another late flight after meetings and driving back to Melbourne. Unlikely for a early run in the morning as I was knackered!

Summary - slipped off the schedule in the last week but still have run my biggest month ever and a few days to go with a bit more focus. A tough plan for the rest of the week before August arrives.

River Run revisited

Another "medium long" session scheduled for today. Requiring 24km so I decided to run the River Run Star course that I ran last week. Not as cold as yesterday, even though I was out before the sparrows. Took a little while to warm up but was soon moving pretty freely.

Got back home in just over 1:56 which is over 4 minutes quicker than last time. Part of that was me fumbling in the dark at Buffalo Creek but I'd still say an improvement. Average pace was 4:57 which I am also pretty happy with, this course is undulating, more so than the Western Wanderer from Sunday but I was still pretty close to the mark on pace.

Not a peep out of the LH achilles so we'll put that down as sorted, shins still tender and rh in particular was getting tired. Legs feel much more smashed up through the day post run, but I did not use any Opti, might start doing that for these sessions.

Recovery day tomorrow!

Cold!

Related to weather, and not health that is.

A shorter run today which again included a trip to Rotary for some 100m strides.

Everything felt pretty good in the extended warm up but it was cold and then when I got to Rotary field there was a frost on the ground and they had the sprinklers on as well! Managed to avoid most of the water but a nice mental diversion as the sprinklers were turning on an off around the track in some programmed routine as I was running.

The strides in general felt pretty good, in the last couple I mentally tried to adjust my form so I was actually running more with a fore/mid footplant rather than my usual heelstrike. This did seem to make a difference.

Ended up with 11km in total at 5 min/km pace.

Long one tomorrow which with me now being back at work means an early rise, looks like I'll be foregoing the tour tonight :(

Western Wanderer STaR

Another late night watching the Tour yet again, no way I'll be able to continue this as I start back at work tomorrow. While watching the tour and doing a few other things on the computer I kept an ice pack on the lh achilles and also applied the voltaren gel. Luckily the start is only a short drive from home and so it was pretty relaxed and got there with heaps of time so had a bit of a catch up with Aunty Karin, Truckie, Blue Dog and Bernie.

Headed off at 6:10am again, knowing the pace would probably be on. A few other CR there as well with Coaster, Cherry and to my surprise MPHaz who I assumed would be running the 6:20 group. This run follows the shoreline of the harbour upstream to Concord and then back to the bay.

A nice consistent (but fastish pace) on what was a marked contrast in weather conditions compared to last week at Dee Why. I eased off the back of the group near Concord Golf Course but kept a pretty good tempo going on the way back. Getting to the Bay run near Rodd Island I decided to go for the full distance and it was only near Iron Cove Bridge that the first 6:20 group runner went past.

Stats 32.2km in 2:37:50 (avg pace of 4:54 min/km)

The troublesome achilles started to complain at around 15-20km but amazingly seemed to go away after about 25km. This is not the first time where I have had a niggle of some sort, done a long run and have it go away?? It is a little tender tonight but I'll keep the tlc regime going as it seems to be working. A tough week coming up now that I'm back at work and also trying to keep the heavy duty diatances going. Friday's session in particular is pretty daunting, race time on Sunday with the Sutherland to Surf, a downhillish dash of 11km!

Update

Well the LHS achilles continues to trouble so I did turn the recovery run on Thursday into a rest day. On Friday I set out on another semi long run, for the first 15km everything was very good. Slowly after that the achilles started to niggle again. Regardless it still does not seem to actually trouble the running. A good hit out again, felt very relaxed in this run until around the mark where the achilles started to complain. I'm adding in a climb up Pittwater Rd to home for my long runs now, it's about 1km long uphill and the theory is to really give the already tired legs/lungs a hit to simulate the last section of the marathon at Sydney which will be tough.

Stats 21.1km (hey that distance seems familiar!) in 1:44:01, avg pace 4:56.

I decided to also take Saturday off completely rather than run and have decided not to run KOM tomorrow, opting for the flatter 30km STaR in Sydney's inner west.

Weekly summary 90km (target was 106km but only dropped 2 recovery runs).

I will see the physio on Monday to work on the achilles.

River Run

Pfitzinger has 24km scheduled today and since that is close to a STaR in distance I decided to adopt the River Run STaR course (with the published shortcut to make up 24km). Only about 1.5km from my place to join the course route which then winds through North Ryde to Denistone East, down through West Ryde to Parramatta River and then through Meadowbank, Putney and Gladesville, across to Hunters Hills then back home through Boronia Park.

The sore soleus/achilles from yesterday was evident but only in the background. Shins also felt a little tight after the session yesterday but eventually warmed up. This run the way I went has a tough backend, especially the last climb up Pittwater Rd back home.

Stats 23.5km in 2:00:25 (avg pace 5:08 min/km and this was slowed towards the end by me fumbling in the dark around Buffalo Creek, avg HR 161).

Stretched and used nurofen gel followed by ice on the achilles which seems to have done the job, will wait and see how it feels tomorrow and decide whether I do my scheduled recovery run or have a rest day. Interesting to note that the twinge in the top of my rh foot has gone away.

Lactate Threshold run revisited

The basis of this run is a total distance of 16km but 8km of that to be run at Half Marathon Pace. The last time I had this scheduled was 2 weeks ago and I could not hold the pace at Lane Cove, but also had Woodford to Glenbrook still in the legs.

With more flexibility this week in regards to training time while I'm still on holidays I decided to head down to the Bay for a more level course for this run. The plan was to park at the car park near the CR2km marker, do a short lap warmup, start the tempo portion at CR0, do the CR5km and then use the Garmin to manage the last 3km.

However the Garmin had decided to somehow drain it's batteries even though I drained them last night so a slight change of plans with now a turnaround at CR5 and run back to CR2 for the 8km tempo and use the Timex for splits. Felt pretty good warming up, as I ran towards Iron Cove Bridge I think I ran past Tiger Angel doing a PT session but it only dawned on me a bit further along.

As I went past CR0 picked up the tempo with the goal of 4:15 min/km. Towards the end of the faster paced section I felt the LHS calf/achilles getting a little tight. After a 3km warmdown did a few cautious calf stretches and headed home.

Stats overall 16km in 1:13:57. The tempo portion was 8km in 34:22 which is around 4:18 min/km pace.

A hard session, the twinge in the calf seems to have responded to self massage and ice we'll see how it is tomorrow which is scheduled as a longer day.

Dee Why Splash

Another struggle out of bed early, the sound of obviously large winds challenged the motivation just that little bit more. Went through the motions and stumbled out the door for the drive to Dee Why. This run has got the better of me each of the previous times I have run it so I was determined to keep a little in reserve for the final stretch this time.

As I arrived at Dee Why the winds seemed to increase and it started to sprinkle. Lurking in a wind sheltered nook at the start it was obvious with people recovering from Gold Coast, running at NOSH and just avoiding the weather that numbers would be small.

The scheduled time came around and 5 of us headed off into the deteriorating weather, fellow CR's superflake and highwayman amongst us. The first several km were pretty tough, running in the dark, howling cold wind and scudding showers. Accordingly chit chat was light. When we got to the school at Oxford Falls teh vote was to stop for a drink, the MTG were huddled there waiting to regroup before headed out. Superflake had to heed natures call and told us to push on. As we headed back to the road the 6:20 group cruised by and in the confusion of MTG/6:10/6:20 in the end three of us ended up about 10m behind the 6:20ers.

As we hit the climb up to Belrose highway slowly eased away and I swapped back on forwards with another strider who I did not know. On the slight slope down between the 2 climbs I cruised past him and got to the park at the top where the equaliser starts just as the 6:20 group finished watering. I stayed with them all the way through the back of Belrose/Frenchs Forest, just easing off at the overbridge. Keeping them in sight in the run across towards Allambie Heights.

The run down the hill was pretty good and caught quite a few 6:00 people. Towards the bottom Superflake caught me up. Once you get to the golf course this run gets tough, the legs used to a good downhill portion all of a sudden have to deal with level ground again. Got to Kingscliffe (?) popped a gu and followed a bit of a conga line up the coast, last year this stretch was extremely ugly but in running with Superflake we kept a good tempo slowly cruising past a number of runners. The last climb up Dee Why hill was a bash but then rolled down to the finish.

Felt pretty fatigued after the run, had a quick chat and then went back to the car to get something dry and warm on. It was a long day after that but the legs actually seemed to be recovering very well.

The stats, 29.8km in 2:32:58 (avg pace of 5:08, avg HR 155). In checking back this is about 2 minutes faster than the run in January and 11 minutes faster than Jan 2004. The good thing is it was a more even pace that both of those runs and done off the back of a lot more km the week leading into the run than both previous runs.

Overall another one of those runs that are as good to finish for the head as much as the legs. Another hard schedule continues courtesy of Mr Pfitzinger this week. Debating about Shoalhaven KOM race next Sunday.

End of week

A semi big night at Cool Running drinks so not keen at getting up early for the scheduled recovery run. After lunch I perked up and decided to head out to stretch the legs and clear the head.

Another simple exploratory run around the suburbs looking for some good route options. Actually felt pretty good, knocked out 8.6km in 44:29 (avg pace 5:10).

That ends the week on a good note, total distance of 100km. This also happens to be my biggest week of running after sifting back through the logs. While I struggled a little through the week it is heartening to have stayed with the program.

Another longish run

Thursday was a recovery run of just under 8km in 41 minutes (5:14 min/km avg HR 155)

Today had another medium/long run down. Headed out a bit later than my normal morning run time, still enjoying the holidays. Felt a little sluggish on the way out. Stopped at the weir for a quick drink and then ran into Mr G out on his morning run. Together we headed back and had a bit of a chat. It was good running with him as I lifted my pace a little. He mentioned that we would probably also see MPHaz and sure enough at around the 2km mark he came past in the opposite direction, all rugged up! I bade Mr G farewell at Scribblys (no way I was running back up there today). Continued along to Macquarie Centre and then along the bike path. Turned off early at Bridge Rd as the legs were starting to feel the pinch.

Ground out the last couple of km with pretty heavy legs. I think I actually ran out of fuel as much as anything else, was very hungry at the end.

17.9km in 1:29:46 (avg pace 5:01 avg HR 160).

I have a recovery run scheduled for tomorrow, given there are CR drinks tonight there is an even chance this may not happen.

Medium long

Again taking advantage of being on holiday and also another late night watching the Tour de France I slept in and opted for an afternoon run.

The schedule has a medium long run of 22km. The pace for these runs should be about 10-20% slower than target marathon pace which for me means about 5:00 to 5:30 min/km. Given this is longer than normal I decided to go "exploring" for the run heading pretty much all the way towards Eastwood and then east along Vimiera Road at the back of Macquarie Uni, all the way through LCNP to the weir and then back up Scribblys to home.

In the end it was actually just over 23km and boy there are a few undulations out there. Very happy with my average pace of 5:02, just dieing a little in the last couple of km, Scribblys in particular was not nice.

When I got back mixed up an Endura Opti which seems to have had a good recovery effect, shins are sensitive tonight so the voltaren gel will be used. Recovery run tomorrow of 8km before another longer run on Friday.

General Aerobic + Speed

Nice description from Pfitzinger for this run. What it means is a total of around 14km which includes 10 x 100m strides.

Since I'm on holidays and starying up late watching the Tour I headed out at around lunchtime. Ran up to Lane Cove Road and went into LCNP at the top gates, all the way through the park over the weir and then continue down along the east bank of Lane Cove River through the golf course and bush to Rotary Field. By the time I got there I was about 12.5km into my run.

Doing 100m strides with already a little fatigue in the legs was interesting, not bothering to collate splits more interested in trying to maintain form and float, then have a 100m jog recovery around the bend before another fast hit out.

Finished that off and again felt the lactic acid in the legs climbing up the hill back home.

Stats 14.9km all up in 1:13:12, gives avg pace of 4:54 and avg HR of 165.

Almost forgot, went to see the witch doctor yesterday, some serious accupuncture to the rh calf/shin which he also seemed to think was the cause behind my rh foot soreness. Every needle he used hit the mark which was quite impressive.

Long one tomorrow as the base building continues.

A bridge too far?

The title is a great war movie about WW2 and I'll borrow it to describe my STaR which is the Ten Bridges. This is a lap around the back of the harbour starting at Longueville and as the title suggests crosses over 10 bridges.

With all the different sport on TV, especially the start of the Tour I stayed up to watch the first stage live. Of course I caught the start of the coverage and then woke up about half an hour after it finished at some horrible hour of the morning. Limped into bed only to have the alarm go off what seemed 5 minutes later. I rolled over with all intentions of another 30 seconds with the eyelids in the down position. 30 minutes later my failsafe watch alarm (always have a backup!) went off and after some indecision I got up and madly dashed around to try and get there in time.

Thus no warm up or stretching to speak off, pretty much straight into it. Some usual suspects in the 6:10 group and the pace was initially pretty consistent. Shins were a little sore but other than that felt ok. Horrie was with us today and he seemed to be struggling a little. After the first drink break at the steps to the Harbour Bridge all of a sudden the pace picked up a little and now it was my turn to struggle.

The 6:20 group caught us at the end of the Anzac bridge, most of our group went short but I went long. Of course the pace increased further as we subconsciously tried to hang onto the 6:20 group. As we ran through the back of Annandale/Leichhardt I decided to ease up and Horrie stayed with me. By the time we got the the bay and Iron Cove Bridge I was struggling and my rh foot was starting to complain again. Used a gu at Drummoyne and then struggled towards home, knowing this run has a particularly nasty last couple of km.

Ended up shortcutting out the little Hunters Hill loop and finished with just over 27km in 2:27:30 (avg pace 5:24).

Legs feel very bashed now but rest tomorrow, I'm on holidays but the kids/wife have everything planned out for me.

A bridge too far?

The title is a great war movie about WW2 and I'll borrow it to describe my STaR which is the Ten Bridges. This is a lap around the back of the harbour starting at Longueville and as the title suggests crosses over 10 bridges.

With all the different sport on TV, especially the start of the Tour I stayed up to watch the first stage live. Of course I caught the start of the coverage and then woke up about half an hour after it finished at some horrible hour of the morning. Limped into bed only to have the alarm go off what seemed 5 minutes later. I rolled over with all intentions of another 30 seconds with the eyelids in the down position. 30 minutes later my failsafe watch alarm (always have a backup!) went off and after some indecision I got up and madly dashed around to try and get there in time.

Thus no warm up or stretching to speak off, pretty much straight into it. Some usual suspects in the 6:10 group and the pace was initially pretty consistent. Shins were a little sore but other than that felt ok. Horrie was with us today and he seemed to be struggling a little. After the first drink break at the steps to the Harbour Bridge all of a sudden the pace picked up a little and now it was my turn to struggle.

The 6:20 group caught us at the end of the Anzac bridge, most of our group went short but I went long. Of course the pace increased further as we subconsciously tried to hang onto the 6:20 group. As we ran through the back of Annandale/Leichhardt I decided to ease up and Horrie stayed with me. By the time we got the the bay and Iron Cove Bridge I was struggling and my rh foot was starting to complain again. Used a gu at Drummoyne and then struggled towards home, knowing this run has a particularly nasty last couple of km.

Ended up shortcutting out the little Hunters Hill loop and finished with just over 27km in 2:27:30 (avg pace 5:24).

Legs feel very bashed now but rest tomorrow, I'm on holidays but the kids/wife have everything planned out for me.

A bridge too far?

The title is a great war movie about WW2 and I'll borrow it to describe my STaR which is the Ten Bridges. This is a lap around the back of the harbour starting at Longueville and as the title suggests crosses over 10 bridges.

With all the different sport on TV, especially the start of the Tour I stayed up to watch the first stage live. Of course I caught the start of the coverage and then woke up about half an hour after it finished at some horrible hour of the morning. Limped into bed only to have the alarm go off what seemed 5 minutes later. I rolled over with all intentions of another 30 seconds with the eyelids in the down position. 30 minutes later my failsafe watch alarm (always have a backup!) went off and after some indecision I got up and madly dashed around to try and get there in time.

Thus no warm up or stretching to speak off, pretty much straight into it. Some usual suspects in the 6:10 group and the pace was initially pretty consistent. Shins were a little sore but other than that felt ok. Horrie was with us today and he seemed to be struggling a little. After the first drink break at the steps to the Harbour Bridge all of a sudden the pace picked up a little and now it was my turn to struggle.

The 6:20 group caught us at the end of the Anzac bridge, most of our group went short but I went long. Of course the pace increased further as we subconsciously tried to hang onto the 6:20 group. As we ran through the back of Annandale/Leichhardt I decided to ease up and Horrie stayed with me. By the time we got the the bay and Iron Cove Bridge I was struggling and my rh foot was starting to complain again. Used a gu at Drummoyne and then struggled towards home, knowing this run has a particularly nasty last couple of km.

Ended up shortcutting out the little Hunters Hill loop and finished with just over 27km in 2:27:30 (avg pace 5:24).

Legs feel very bashed now but rest tomorrow, I'm on holidays but the kids/wife have everything planned out for me.

Race Report - Homebush 10km

Up at sparrows to get to the bay and set everything up for the timing. As previously posted no real plans or preconceptions as to what I'd do so just lined up at the start near Springer to try and keep the 40 min group in sight at least to begin with. Colin also started near me and at the 1km mark we were about 5m behind Springer but in a seemingly slow time of around 4:20!

Around here Mr G loomed up on my shoulder and we had a quick chat. Colin slowly disappeared into the distance over the next couple of km. Through this time I was pretty much running by myself but could sense others nearby. Sure enough as we headed back out for the second big lap a few familiar faces slowly went past, including spud, Charles C, Barry R. As we went round the 2nd lap Mr G slowly went past also but I managed to hold him pretty much at about 10-15m.

Heading into the last km or so I could percieve I was gaining on him and sure enough slowly reeled him in, as we went up the last little climb I would have only been 1m away but he would have heard me, and also seen my shadow and just picked it up enough to hold me off.

Splits
1km 4:21 4:21 - a bit slow for a change
2km 4:02 8:23 - thats better!
3km 4:04 12:27
4km 4:20 16:47 - who said this was a flat course??
5km 4:04 20:51 - back on track
6km 4:16 25:07 - I think Mr G went past here
7km 4:16 29:23
8km 4:26 33:49 - that damn hill again...
9km 4:22 38:11 - legs feeling dead
10km 3:56 42:07 - chasing G Man :)

All up I'm actually fairly pleased with the run, no taper and a lot of running recently. Lack of speed showed a little but as the endurance increases I should see a natural lift in ability to maintain speed.

Recovery

Nice recovery run through East and North Ryde. Shins still a little tight but eased off after everything warmed up. Amazing difference in weather compared to last night. Slightly cool but clear skies.

Stats 7.6km in 39:58 (avg pace 5:14 avg HR 154, so a true recovery run!)

Striders 10km @ Homebush tomorrow, no real ambitions or preconceptions, my last 10km race was a pretty ugly one at SMC and before that the PB run at Domain. Given the amount of running I've done recently and no taper I will run hard but not be too worried as to what time I do.