Motivation

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

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

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

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

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

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

The last few days...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Series @ Lindfield

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recovery

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

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

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

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

Illawarra Socialgaine

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

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

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

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

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

Family Vacation

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

Still alive!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Still here!

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

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

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

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

Recovery

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

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

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

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

NSW 24 hour Rogaine Championships

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 posts in 2 days!

Yes a new record for recent times.

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

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

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

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

Weekly update

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

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

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

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

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

Now for some running!

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

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

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

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

Long Weekend retreat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Treadmill trauma

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

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

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

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

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

I'm still here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nothin doing...

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

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

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

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

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

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

River Run

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

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

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

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

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

Easy rider

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

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

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




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

2nd Recovery run

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

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

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

Race plans and results July to Sept

Wanted to keep this table somewhere for posterity.

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