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.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
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.
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.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
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....
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....
Saturday, August 06, 2005
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.
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.
Friday, August 05, 2005
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
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.
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.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
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
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)
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)
Saturday, July 30, 2005
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!!!
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!!!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
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 :(
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 :(
Sunday, July 17, 2005
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!
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!
Saturday, July 16, 2005
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
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.
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.
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