24 little hours

It all got better today. Plan was to start easy and increase the pace (I was feeling better) but I was up on yesterday even without trying. 20:22 at South Steyne (5:38 for the Manly Mile) and 36:53 all up. Would have been pleased with that on the flat 10km route let alone the hilly version. Wearing the Adizero's was obviously the difference - christened them at JPMorgan and don't think I've run a bad session in them since.

Good to have Hamburglar's company for 200m around Queenscliff. Good luck for tomorrow mate.

Farewell '08. Hope you all have a great 2009.

Dodge City

Is where my stomach is at. That's the problem with kids. I don't think I had one stomach complaint between the ages of 11 and 28.

Same route as yesterday but thought I'd push it today. Managed that though feeling uncomfortable until South Steyne (21:26) but the lethargy had begun to set in which slowed me down to a jog. That quickly converted to a crawl. Had a pit stop outside Manly Waterworks and dragged myself home. Still managed 43:10 which just showed how much quicker I was over the first half than yesterday.

Not happy.

Same again

Didn't feel much better, maybe due to lack of a proper meal in the past 48 hours. Down to 62.4kg this morning - I think the hangover was also a bug as Maggie's been throwing up loads. 43:02 so a little quicker.

Hungover

Hardest 10km of the year. Reminded me of what it's like to run when you're not fit. Ran the hillier version. 44:50.

Boxing Day stuff

Headed out over lunch down to Queenscliff, around to Shelley, up to North Head to see the Sydney/Hobart start (avoided Fairfax Track as it would have been packed), back down via Little Manly beach and around to Forty Baskets where we'd left the car yesterday after drinking too much champagne. 15.99km in 1:08:37 (about 4:15s). Generally a nice run but it got hot and was crowded up on North Head.

Christmas Eve wanderings

4 hours sleep. Had to move downstairs at 1.30am - was keeping Kirst awake. Got up early. Missed Jet Cat. Caught Cab. Got to office. Dumped bag. Ran to meet Kanser. Ran together to Centennial. Ran numerous loops of Mackay Oval waiting for everyone. Nice easy run with the Tiger, Nick Cope, Caleb, Jane, Durante, the Wildman and Kanser. Ran back to Kanser's. Ran back to office. 23-24kms averaging about 4:40s. Bought prawns and sausages from David Jones. It's a madhouse in there. Back in office. Merry Christmas.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Felt very average this morning. Up half the night coughing and really wasn't in the mood for a session. Rocked up to a small group including Kanser, Phil W, English Andy, Pete W, John B and a couple of the new blokes. No-one was keen to take it on so ran by myself the whole way. Barely reached the statue on the way out but felt better on the way back reaching the end of the Opera House. Jogged the long way back with Kanser and English Andy, moaning to one-another about our aches and ills. Sometimes wonder why I bother.

Easy(ish) Monday and Year in Review

Out at lunch feeling pretty good which was surprising given yesterday's run. Caught up with English Andy, the Saint, MC and Kanser and ran the usual route. Out in 4:30s and back picking it up all the way so the last 3km was run in 12:00. Finished the 14.71km in 1:03:00 (4:17s). Another beautiful day but pretty breezy. The Saint was saying that Shelley and potentially Dent and Youcef will be running the State 5km in Jan which should make it a cracker of a race. Hope they have seeded races otherwise I'll be trying to avoid being lapped twice.

Year in Review:

Started with the achilles injury which was probably a blessing in disguise. Really concentrated on getting fit for the State 10km. This season I seemed to peak for races very well but run the ones in-between pretty averagely - unlike last season where I was very consistent all the way through but without any stand-out runs.

Best 3 races:

1. JPMorgan (Sydney) - probably my best race since the Northern X-Country Championships in 1989.
2. City to Surf - if only for getting the monkey off my back and being able to run well on a hilly course. I'm usually crap on hills.
3. State 10km - finally cracking 33 mins and by a fair margin.

Difficult to exclude State 3km from the top 3 given the sudden turn-around in form and the good PB, but in the end the others were more important. Also seemed to run well at each of the ANSW events. Not sure whether this is due to the atmosphere, the fact that the competition is generally stronger or that they aren't run at some ungodly hour in the morning.

Worst 3 races:

1. Minimosmarathon. Slowest 10km in 2 years. Bloody awful course (see above re: hills). And the fact that you have to run around Mosman. Still don't forget heading the wrong way at one point because the marshall was collecting her morning latte. I'd rather run the Minirootyhillmarathon.
2. Gold Coast Half. Really thought I was on for a big PB in this one. I blamed it on the wind but that didn't seem to affect Dave Sweeney.
3. Coolrunning 5km end of October (if it counts as a race), if not Lane Cove 10km a week later. Smashed by Muz on both occasions. Really need to do something about my 5km PB.

The Year ahead:

Will be dominated by the marathon in July. Everything will be viewed as a build up to that. The thing this year has taught me is to view races in the scheme of current training and stop trying to run a PB every time. Also very much looking forward to Six Foot Track. Don't want to miss the NSW Long Course and Short Course X-Country Champs this year either. Despite the hills.

My votes for HuRTS performances of the year:

1. Best performance: Tucks and his NSW Long Course X-Country race. I don't know about the marathon yet so can't assess how good his 2:29 in Canberra was. In absolute terms, Steve's 14:33 over 5km would win but you have to take into account relative ability.
2. Improver of the Year: Steve. Who else. It's enjoyable to look back over the blog and see how he used to struggle back in June.
3. Sergio award. Serg. It's no done thing for next year though. Having said that, when it comes to one-on-one competition, you wouldn't bet against him. His comeback in the North Head 10km was great as was his run in the X-Country relays.

Ones to watch for next year:

1. Muz - now he's discovered that you can run on the weekend, and that you can run for 2 hours, he's going to be dangerous. Time for the rest of us to step up training.
2. Dicky H - he improves so quickly off short blocks of high intensity training so it'll be interesting to see how far he can get off a sustained programme which he should have up to Six Foot Track.
3. Kanser - so long as he stays injury free (a big ask given his current regime) I have a feeling he'll finally crack the marathon in July if he runs it. No more running obscure marathons in far flung places, he'll be against a large number of his training partners in the event he loves most with no excuses.

Sunday 10km loops

Dicky H came over on a beautiful still morning (about 15C) and we churned out the Manly 10km loops. Started quicker than usual but didn't stop us picking up the pace on the final loop. Kms went as follows:

4:44; 4:10; 4:05; 4:02; 4:03; 4:03; 4:00; 4:07; 4:10; 4:11; 4:08; 4:04; 4:05; 4:01; 4:03; 4:03; 3:59; 4:02; 4:01; 4:07; 3:54; 3:45; 3:48; 3:44; 3:52; 3:47; 3:44; 3:44; 3:43; 3:44.

All up 30km in 1:59:55 (aimed for sub 2 when we saw the clock at 26km) which is 3:59s. Final 10km in 37:45. Definitely feeling stronger over these long runs. Dicky H was pushing all the way and is getting very strong off only 5 consecutive weeks over 2 hour Sunday runs. I reckon he should run for Mayor of Manly. He mush have high-fived every second person we ran past.

Quickish run home

Quickish run home after a day off yesterday. Pushed it from Spit Junction onwards. 27:47 at the Toyota Garage and 51:24 all up.

MLR Wednesday

18.37km Centennial route in 1:22:25 (4:29s). Ran with MC, the Saint and LF Charlie. Beautiful day but a bit warm. Nice chat, felt good until the final 2km when a bit of fatigue set in. Heel very sore this morning but eased up by a Tiger massage this afternoon. He killed my bloody shins though. I think he was just angry about a growing realisation he's going to owe me $200 in the near future...

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

The King tide was in, we spent the first 8 reps running off road to avoid it. Gradually subsided to allow for some more even paced running. Reps went as follows:

902m (3:20 per/km); 906m (3:20s); 925m (3:15s); 900m (3:21s); 911m (3:19s); 905m (3:21s); 903m (3:21s); 900m (3:21s); 933m (3:14s); 911m (3:20s); 937m (3:14s); 924m (3:15s); 978m (3:05s); 968m (3:06s)

All off 60 seconds rest.

Ran variously with Durante, Dicky H, Kanser, the Chairman, English Andy and Muz. Turned to Kanser after rep 11 and asked how many he was doing in the hope he was going to say 12 so that I could gratefully stop then too. He looked all keen and said the full 14, at which point my heart sank. I was struggling from rep 7 onwards but pleased to be able to pluck a couple of quick ones out of nowhere at the end - assisted by Muz, the Chairman and Kanser.

Buggered now.

Progressive tempo

Was supposed to be a recovery run but somehow it didn't turn out that way, and we didn't even have the Saint with us. Serg, Kanser, Wildman, Durante, the Chairman and Dicky H showed up on a lovely clear day. Legs felt pretty sluggish to start with but on the way back Durante and the Chairman had pushed on ahead so Kanser and I picked up the pace slowly, and in particular from the Park Hyatt onwards, having started to feel a little better. Km times were as follows:

4:26; 4:12; 4:11; 4:14; 3:57; 4:16; 4:10; 3:56; 4:05; 3:49; 3:41; 3:36; 3:47; 3:39

So all up 14.56km in 58:03 (3:59 p/km). Dicky H is looking stronger every week. No idea how Kanser coped with that after his weekend's efforts.

PM: Jog home but stopping at Toyota Garage. Felt good and was tempted to carry on but don't want to push the doubling up too much too soon. 31:03.

More Manly 10kms

Caught up with Tim this morning for the usual 3 x 10km loops. Very easy jog down the hill just before 6am before Tim set off like a rocket. Settled in OK and the km splits were pretty regular before picking it up over the final 10km:

4:49; 4:16; 4:10; 4:10; 4:06; 4:08; 4:04; 4:08; 4:16; 4:14; 4:12; 4:11; 4:10; 4:04; 4:06; 4:07; 4:02; 4:09; 4:12; 4:13; 4:02; 3:58; 3:57; 3:55; 3:59; 3:55; 3:53; 4:02; 4:04; 3:57

All up, 30.58km in 2:06:23 (4:08's) with final 10km in 39:42. Good to run the whole thing with Tim who was noticeably stronger than 2 weeks ago. Beautiful morning - clear as a bell and coolish. Bumped into Darren Quarrel (who was flying) and Pete Walker.

Quick run to work

Felt good this morning so pushed it a bit on the run in. 25:49 at Spit Junction (4:27 pace all the way up Parriwi Rd) and 52:52 all up.

Cool and drizzling rain so perfect conditions, although some b**tard in the T3 lane drove through the biggest puddle when I was running right beside it just after Spit Bridge and completely drenched me (to the extent I swallowed dirty puddle water). Made worse by the fact that there were hundreds of other cars queueing around at the time who must have seen it and had a good giggle.

HuRTS Pyramid session

Session was based on laps of Rushcutters Oval - 1 lap, 2 laps, 3 laps, 4 laps, 3 laps, 2 laps, 1 lap. Each lap is about 450m - probably 455m. We split into two groups - the first being the Chairman, Muz, KMK, Kaley, Dicky H and English Andy. MC took the second with the Stallion bludging in that group with another hangover. The rest was half the time it took to run the rep you had just finished. Splits went as follows:

87 (3:16 p/k), 2:50 (3:09), 4:11 (3:06), 5:27 (3:02), 4:00 (2:57), 2:37 (2:52), 71 (2:40).

So, too easy to start with but picked it up well towards the end. Was always going to be difficult feeling our way into a brand new session. The Chairman pushed on during both 3 laps and the 4 laps, but I caught him on the final 2 laps and 1 lap. Otherwise ran the rest with Muz. Felt pretty good towards the end and even found a turn of pace on the last. CT will be getting scared.

Overall it's 7230m averaging 3:00 per/km.

MC was running very strongly - managing a 74 on the last rep (equivalent of a 66s 400m).

Tim - flat 30km on Sunday sounds good, but no intention on trying to run the final 10km in 37 minutes this time. How about 6am at the Roundhouse Kindergarten?

MLR Easy Wednesday

Woke up this morning feeling as though someone had taken a hammer to my thighs during the night. However, a nice easy run at lunchtime has them feeling a lot better. Ran the long Centennial route with MC, the Chairman, Dicky H and Ben St L. 18.36km in 1:23:05 (4:32s).

I think we worked out that Truthy is the Tiger, although I'm not wholly convinced as his grammar is a bit too good for the Tiger.

HuRTS 5min reps

Crowd today was the Chairman, MC, Kanser, the Stallion, Muz, English Andy, Enda, Kaley plus others. Muz and the Stallion were tired from the past few days so took it easy. Kanser started easy then picked it up towards the end so I started by trying to stay with the Chairman but as he was running close to 3:10s, ended up running by myself. Reps went:

1.49km (3:22s), 1.51km (3:18s), 1.50km (3:20s), 1.50km (3:20s), 1.52km (3:18s), 1.50km (3:21s), 1.52km (3:18s), 1.52km (3:18s).

All off 90 seconds rest. Very pleased to keep the consistency with the session as it was hot out there with not much protection from the sun. I was tired towards the end so they required increasing effort. I reckon this session is a good guide to your race 10km time - based on your average pace for all 8. Gives me a 33:10 which is probably about right. Kanser is coming back into form - he seems to thrive off high mileage, high intensity training. Couldn't stick with him on the last one where he ran about 3:13s.

Absolutely knackered now, particularly backing up after yesterday.

St Lawrence joins HuRT Squad!

For one run, at least.

Finally able to head out again after recovering from gastro. Could probably have gone out yesterday but was up in the Blue Mountains for the weekend (getting pretty excited about running 6ft Track). Today I caught up with MC, Dicky H, Wildman, the Stallion, Auz and Ben for the usual 15km recovery run. Although it wasn't much of a recovery (Serg would have been pleased) with everyone obviously trying to show their best form with Ben around as it was a bit quicker than usual (14.88km in 1:01:38 for a 4:08p/k average). After 5 days off though, I was feeling great. Will try and head out this evening to squeeze in something resembling a long Sunday run.

PM: Very easy jog home. 32:35 at Toyota Garage then the watch lost its signal. Probably just over 60 minutes. Lower legs sore.

HuRTS Progressive Tempo

Was feeling crap in the morning but foolishly decided to go out for the session in any case. Started at the St Mary's gates and ran the 45min fartlek course as a progressive tempo - increasing the pace by 15 seconds p/km after each 10 minutes. Started at about 4:10's and it roughly worked. I got km splits as follows:

4:16; 4:06; 4:07; 4:01; 3:48; 3:47; 3:45; 3:31; 3:34; 3:17; 3:23; 3:22

Final section from Opera House gates to stone gates was 9:45. We turned after 24 minutes (at the second bridge half way through Hickson Rd) and got back in just under 21 (44:51).

Felt fine when running (although I was knackered at the end), but immediately started to feel crap again. This got worse during the day so here I am at home the next day having just got out of bed feeling sorry for myself.

Recovery Monday

Good crowd with Serg, Muz, Ray, Steve, MC, Dicky H, Durante and Enda. Ran the short route through Oxford St to Centennial, did a long loop then back through Woolhara Gates down Ocean St but cutting out Garden Island. 14.11km in 1:02:50 (4:27s). Not much of a recovery as it was above 30C and very humid. Legs very jaded from yesterday.

More Base Maintenance

Friday and Saturday off again (same reason as last week, hangover then too busy) so off out again today feeling fresh and the heel better than in a long time. Decided on the 10km loops and bumped into Tim Ashby about 5kms in who was doing the same thing so we ran together. I hadn't even realised he was running again so it was a pleasant surprise and made the run much more enjoyable. I wanted to push the final 10km like last week so left him with about 9km to go. I was feeling great at that stage and the pace picked up pretty easily. Struggled over the final 2km when the fatigue set in but a good run in perfect conditions.



Km splits were as follows:



4:36; 4:14; 4:09; 4:06; 4:10; 4:11; 4:09; 4:11; 4:13; 4:15; 4:10; 4:05; 4:03; 4:07; 4:09; 4:10; 4:01; 4:11; 4:12; 4:09; 4:04; 3:47; 3:42; 3:42; 3:45; 3:44; 3:37; 3:49; 3:55; 3:52.

All up, 30.55km in 2:04:26 (averaging 4:04s) but with the last 10km in 37:57.

HuRTS 8 x 800m

A bottle and a half of 2005 Katnook Cabernet Sauvignon in Bambini Trust last night, plus the heavy workload early this week persuaded me to take it easy today. Huge crowd which we split up into 2 groups. Front group was the Chairman, the Stallion and Muz with me following behind with Dicky H and English Andy. Ran 2:35, then 2:33, 2:32, 2:32; 2:32, 2:31 then 2:14. Felt comfortable running the 2:32's and feeling as though I'd bludged a bit so threw it all into the last one.

Easyish Wednesday

Centennial route including the extra lap but cutting out Garden Island on the way out - 17.88km in 1:18:39 (4:24s).

Late out so missed the boys setting off so ran hard for the first few km trying to catch them up. Eventually caught MC and Clyde near the top of Ocean Street. From then on it was a pleasant run. Bumped into Less Fast Charlie at the end, having just done Warrior, looking intimidating...

76km in the past 4 days is good going but I'm tired.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Huge turnout today for one of the toughest sessions we do, not sure why it's so popular. I reckon it's one of my best though, always seem to do well on it. Wore my Adizeros and felt great in them. I was intending to take it easy today but just settled into a comfortable rythmn from the word go. Steve disappeared off into the distance (with Ray chasing him!) leaving Fast Charlie (didn't catch Less Fast Charlie today), Muz, Durante, the Chairman and I in a group behind. Turned at exactly the same spot as last time (just opposite the renovated old building on Hickson Rd) still feeling good. Fatigue started to creep in approaching the Opera House. Went through 10km in about 33:50 when the group I was running with started to drop. Steve caught me on the hill by the ABC Pool and tried to stick with him for as long as possible before he accelerated away by the Art Gallery. Finished 13 seconds short of the start line.

Great session.

Easy recovery

Easy recovery run - the usual route (14.84km in 1:03:03 - 4:15s). Steve, DC5 (this moniker has never really caught on, and given he shares a name with the Chairman of his bank, I think he should now be called the Chairman - that way, when Drev shows up we can have the Chairman chasing the Judge) and Serg ran ahead and Durante, Kanser, MC, Slow Charlie (as opposed to Fast Charlie, in every sense of the term), Muz, English Andy and I trailed behind. Kanser was complaining that we were going too quick for a recovery run but I figure that if we are chatting all the way then that is good enough.

More base maintenance

Couple of days off on Friday and Saturday, not intentionally but because I forgot my kit on Friday and was too busy yesterday. As a result I felt great today and the heel has not been a problem.

Decided on a new route (pictured) around Mosman, largely taking in the "Mosman Reversed" Striders STaR. Got very confused coming out of the path at the end of Cremorne which resulted in a couple of extra kilometres. Clocked the km splits and realised how much slower running through the bush and up steps is. Km splits were as follows:

4:33; 4:25; 4:25; 4:18; 4:46; 5:35; 4:17; 5:48; 4:01; 4:24; 5:33; 4:52; 4:42; 4:44; 4:50; 5:57; 4:39; 4:12; 5:05; 4:40; 4:52; 4:04; 4:01; 3:42; 3:40; 4:11; 4:19; 3:40; 3:50.

All up it was 28.67km in 2:11:09 (4:34s). Would have been a lot slower if I hadn't picked it up over the last 8kms but nice to be able to do so. Ran past Nicholas Moore (CEO of Macquarie Bank) near Taronga Zoo and he said hello cheerily so the Aussie economy can't be that bad.

HuRTS 10 x 400m

Strange weather at the moment - chucked down with rain last night, has been very cold but then for our session today the skies cleared and it was very warm. Then started raining on the way home. Anyway, that's a very English start to the post.

Nice session today. Told myself I wouldn't kill it but once the boys start running you can't help but push yourself. Stevie was leading us out in 64s, followed by KMK and me with Kanser just behind. Big crowd from Macquarie (they like the 400s, must be something about the testosterone) but also included Ray back with us for the first time in ages, Aus, Kaley, Marty and others. Set off every 2 minutes. Reps went as follows:

68, 68, 68, 68, 68, 68, 69, 70, 71, 68.

So, a bit mentally weak towards the end when KMK backed off saving himself for his usual onslaught on the last rep. But felt good today. The grass had just been mown and the ground was perfect. No pain in the heel. Would like to maintain these 400s until State 5km on Jan 22nd as I'm sure they're doing me the world of good.

Executive Health Check this afternoon. Will be interesting to compare my weight to last year and to see whether I can push down my adjusted age....

Well, I've put on 0.5kg (64.7 compared to 64.2 last year) but have lost a year (effective age of 29 compared to 30 last year). Resting pulse of 47 (not bad after 400s at lunchtime) and blood pressure of 110/64 (compared to 118/80 last year). The Doctor pissed me off by going on about my diet so celebrated with a Maccas on the way back to the office.

Easy Wednesday

Just the 15km Centennial route with MC, DC5 and Scott Curtis (Scott dropping off early). Total distance of 14.83km in 1:06:25 (4:28s). Followed by an ET massage. Feeling a bit crap today - sore shoulders and slight headache so hope I'm not coming down with something.

MC showed me a new trick on the 405 to measure km times. Today's were as follows:

1. 4:44
2. 4:49
3. 4:46
4. 4:46
5. 4:19
6. 4:04
7. 4:06
8. 4:20
9. 4:28
10. 4:18
11. 4:12
12. 4:16
13. 5:01
14. 4:06
15. 4:53

HuRTS 4 x 3km

The usual 4 x 10 minutes session with Charlie, DC5, KMK, Kanser, English Andy, MC, Richard H, Enda, Stephen etc. Very windy today - the water in Farm Cove was being blown through all of the holes onto the path - a couple of metres in in places. Also very busy on the eastern side where they are setting up the open air cinema. Combined with Pain in the Domain disrupted the reps significantly at times.

Took it easy today running with MC, Enda and English Andy and also KMK for the first 2 reps. Kanser was holding on to to Charlie and DC5 up ahead. Covered 2.72km for the first rep (3:40s), back in 9:41 on the second (3:33s), covered 2.82km for the third rep trying to catch Kanser (3:32s) and back in 9:53 on the fourth (3:30s). I say I took it easy but it's still not comfortable running that distance at that pace, particularly with the heavy wind. Was able to tuck behind KMK on the first 2 reps but was exposed on the 3rd and 4th.

HuRTS Awards Night has been set for 4th December. We have 3 categories, best performance, most improved and the Sergio Carvalho trophy for most rested on laurels. I think Kanser wants to introduce some more categories so that he can win a prize.

Congrats to Stevie on his 3:52 for 1500m at the weekend. Rumour has it he may be leaving us for the dark side.

Easy Monday

Very easy run home after work. 30:29 at Toyota Garage and 57:37 all up. Heel feels a lot better running in the evening than in the morning.

Base Maintenance

Out early and so bored with my current Sunday runs that I just headed up the beaches for an hour then turned around and came back. So ran to Queenscliff then over the headland to Freshie, along Freshie, along Curl Curl, along Dee Why, up the headland but had had enough of beaches by Collaroy so ran along the path. Reached just short of the corner shop near Tourmaline St by one hour so turned around and retraced my steps. 26:09km in 2:01:34 all up (4:40s). Slow because of the number of hills and soft sand. Sand was much softer with the tide coming in on the way home which is why the time was slower. All the sand and hills did no good to my bursar which is very sore today. Whacked it going sailing this afternoon and it's now agony.

Very easy

Very easy 6.65km in 29:36 with Kanser - 4.27 per km. Chatting about Wednesday's race, injuries and marathons. Dave's already gearing up for his next race in January (10km in Dubai). He's even more obsessed then me.

JPMorgan Chase CC - 5th in 17:23

The best race of my season is thanks to Mr Durante. Was completely psyched for this race - couldn't concentrate on work all day. Bussed the large AAR crowd to Centennial Park and caught up with Muz, Serg, Durante and Steve beforehand for a warm up. Drifted off by myself to collect my thoughts then started the strides in front of the start line with what looked like a HuRTS reunion gathering. Lined up on the start line and, with about 10 seconds to go, the whole crowd gave a large cheer to Kanser who sprinted to the start line just in time.

My plan was not to kill myself on the first hill, so settled in gently to find Durante just in front of me with DC5 about 5 yards ahead. Stevie had set off like a hare and seemed to have the race won in the first 400m. The group just behind him was Charlie, the Horne, CT and Crasti with Muz just a little further back. From then on it was just a race between me and Durante. We dropped DC5 at about 3km and could see Muz maintaining about the same distance in front of us. Whenever I eased up Durante would force the pace and vice versa. As a result, we slowly closed in on Muz and a fading CT. We caught CT just before the Fox Studios gate. By this stage I was just hanging on, telling myself that I'd have done well to stick to Durante until 3km, then again even better until 4km, when we caught CT I was telling myself I'd just have to hold on for my first ever win over him. We caught Muz just after the Fox Studios gate just before 5km and Durante seemed to surge a bit which made me think it was all over. Just told myself to stick to them for as long as possible. We hit 5km - the three of us running side by side having dropped CT - and I knew I'd lose in a sprint finish so put on a surge just to be able to say that at least I'd tried my best. After all the hype before the race I couldn't believe that this was the way it was playing out - couldn't have scripted it better. Neither Muz nor Durante went with me and immediately thought I'd gone too early as my legs were starting to buckle but just kept on pushing to give it my best shot. Heard Timmy L shouting from the sidelines which urged me on and just kept on trying to sprint in desperation for the line. Was absolutely stoked at the end. Almost collapsed but turned around to see Durante being helped over the line having collapsed. He was whisked off to the medical tent and put on a drip for an hour. It was pretty warm and he'd taken Panadol earlier in the day which must have affected him (as well as his recent cold/flu). He was the sole reason I had a good race though - I'd have never got back to Muz if I hadn't been tussling with Durante and forcing myself to stick to him the whole way.

Got the following splits:

1km: 3:07
2km: 6:15
3km: 9:16
4km: 12:21
5km: Too busy worrying about Durante and Muz but about 15:30

I reckon the KM were pretty accurate. The first 2km involve a couple of hills whereas the third KM is all flat/downhill which explains the fast split.

Great race by Stevie to win it. Charlie did his customary sprint past the Horne to take second with Crasti 4th. KMK just pipped DC5 with both going under 18 minutes. Serg ran 18:30 to hold off Robin Whiteley. Kanser ran through his knee injury for something just over 19 to hand Macquarie the team victory (seemingly). Great to catch up with Richard P, Tim and the boys after and thanks to Flakey and the Tiger for the shouts while running.

Rest now before building up to GCM next year. Dicky High is a new recruit.

Toyota Garage

Very gentle run half way home in new shoes.

Very easy

Gentle 11km with Steve, Eamonn and MC. Heel still a bit sore, could barely walk on it yesterday but popped 4 Voltaren to get the inflammation down. Just trying to hold my body together for one last hurrah on Wednesday night.

State 3000m Champs - 4th (C Race) in 8:51:06

Have been struggling for form recently and before this race I'd basically given up and told myself that I'd race myself into form at some stage. Love running on the track and love running in the evening. Races were put back an hour which just heightened the tension and knew it would be fast with Earl O'Brien and Chadi in the C Race. I was secretly hoping for something under 9 minutes, telling myself that I'd be OK for JPMorgan on Wednesday if I did that. Farted around on the start line trying to tell the official that Jason Harrison wasn't turning up because he'd gone to the Rihanna concert (really shouldn't have got into that). Unbelievable how much more tense the start of track races are compared to road races. I was bricking myself. Tried not to go too quick to start off with but we still went through 200m in 31 seconds and the first 400 in 66. Chadi and Earl were leading the charge with a chap from Bankstown (Jason Hall). I was in a group trying to hold on to James Swadling.

Don't remember much else other than falling behind James during the middle km but then slowly catching his group over the final km. Caught James with 800m to go, got caught behind a chap for 100m trying to decide whether or not to go past him before just having a go. Was lactic with 300m to go and lost all form trying to sprint it home but chuffed to bits with the time. Got the following splits:

400m - 66
800m - 2:15
1km - 2:50 (was scared at this point)
2km - 5:53
2.2km - 6:30
2.6km - 7:40
3km - 8:51:06

In the overall times I finished 1 spot (and 1 second) behind CT. Closest I've ever got to him.

Roff looked very good for the A race win in 7:57 but run of the night for me was Josh Johnson winning the B race in 8:18 and he's only 16. Big Mikey H looked great taking the lead in the first km but struggled towards the end for an 8:38 - I think he can run a lot quicker. Likewise for Stevie T - he lead the pack in the A race for the first km looking very comfortable but then struggled. Bit more base and he'll be right back in it again.

Left heel is very sore today. Will take it easy until Wednesday, give it everything then take a bit of a rest before starting anew in January. Had a load of beers at Enda's 30th after the race where there was a lot of trash talking but it looks as though Gold Coast will be the showdown next year. Don't remember much else about the evening other than a vague recollection of beating Kanser's Irish ass at pool and thinking that, for however drunk I was, Timmy L was more so.

Hurts Progressive tempo

But only 30 minutes today. Told everyone 16 minutes out then 14 minutes back, forgetting that we normally aim for a 1 minutes negative split rather than a 2 minute. Realised this about 2 minutes into the run. Took it very easy in the first half running with Kanser (who dropped out with a niggling back of knee pain) and Travis. Then started to push it just a bit on the way back. Guess we averaged 4:10s on the way out and 3:40's on the way back. Still nice and comfortable by the end.

Beautiful day and warm. Good crowd (plenty of newer faces) including Charlie's (x2), Muz and Enda (looking strong), MC etc. Bumped into Stevie T and Durante doing secret training. Disappointed to see Durante and Kanser out of the State 3km but should guarantee a great race next Wednesday.

Easy run home

Just an easy run home after work. Like doing this run now, especially on beautiful cool spring evenings like today. 30:00 at Toyota Garage and 56:19 all up (4:20's for the 12.98km although I've had a different distance on the Garmin every time I've run it). Easy Tiger massage at lunch made the legs feel a bit better.

Pussy 400s

Melbourne Cup today so met at 8am at Rushcutters for 400s. Except the Jet Cat was cancelled so I turned up 20 minutes late, by which time KMK, Kanser, Rob Dog and Chris G were on rep number 7. Ran the last 3 with them, then the rest by myself but with Rob Dog and KMK helping out on the occasional rep. See if you can work out which one's they assisted on:

68, 69, 69, 74, 73, 74, 68, 74, 67, 68

I'm obviously mentally a pussy. Quite a bit of wind out there this morning. Was knackered on the way in (fell asleep on the ferry) and really didn't feel like running the 400s but got into it by the end and pleased I did.

Great to see Rob Dog out again, still looking strong. KMK is in great shape too after his 15:58 at the weekend.

Jamie - it's not Dad. He would never have advocated a day's rest - "just get out there Tom and stop being so soft".

Recovery run

Not quite slow enough. Headed out on the usual out and back Monday route with Durante, Kanser, Serg, Muz, Steve, Enda and Aus in hot conditions. Struggled to feel comfortable all the way in the heat and after a tough weekend. 14.58km in 1:02:03 averaging 4:15s.

Who put the anonymous second comment on Saturday? You're probably right.

Old Manly Sunday

Out at 2pm today as I was too tired this morning after a night out. Felt pretty comfortable all the way and only just shy of my PB (set on May 25th) in running 2:01:37. Garmin clocked it at 27.60km today though (4:24s) - although the boardwalk at OceanWorld was blocked so had to run a detour around the road so that probably explains the difference. I obviously judged my taper a day late. First 10km in 42:13, the next in 43:59.

Tim - good to hear from you. How is the ankle repairing?

Striders 10km Lane Cove - 10th in 33:42

Mr Durante will be kicking himself that he wasn't well this week. All started very well. Through the first 1km nice and quick but feeling OK running with Muz and Jeremey Horne after Uncle Dave had set off like a rocket. They then pulled ahead and I settled into a group of 3 with James Swadling and Saxon Moseley. We ran together with me doing most of the front running duties until 6km when my legs just felt dead. It was pretty humid out there today, but I think falling off at 6km was a result of lack of endurance rather than the effects of the weather. Certainly didn't affect James. It was exactly what I had told myself not to do before the race - falling off after all the hard work had been done. I was in no-mans land after that and ran slowly for the next 3km before picking it up again over the final KM. The annoying thing was that had I stuck with James and Saxon they would have dragged me back to Muz - James pipped him on the line.

KMs went as follows:

3:07
6:24 (3:17)
9:48 (3:24)
13:10 (3:22)
16:47 (3:37)
Don't know
Don't care
27:00
30:26
33:42

So until 5km I was ahead of where I was when I ran this course in April (when I did 33:16) and 10 seconds ahead of where I was last November (when I did 33:17). So I need to start banging out those mid-week long runs again. Or perhaps not, really depends on what I'm aiming for now. I guess in the long run it's the marathon next July.

Pretty disappointing runs by the rest of the HuRTS squad too - it's interesting that we all seem to run poorly on the same occassions - must have something to do with our training patterns. Steve was beaten into 3rd (just over 32mins) by Colin and Jeremey and Kanser was about 2 minutes slower than what I expected him to do, plainly still feeling the effects of the marathon. Muz ran a good time but given his time at 5km on this course (16:31) and the way he has been going in training, I expected him to be comfortably under 33.

Great run by Unc though - despite the furious first km he went on to run 32:30, beat CT and take out the Striders 10km series. Well done mate.

HuRTS Gate to Gate

Did a very easy 5km warm-up in 22:23 then 7 x Gate to Gates. Ran the first 300m quick then jogged the rest of the way finishing each one in about 3:20. Did them all with Kanser with Serg joining in the final couple. The first 300m were run pretty quick, Kanser showing a good turn of pace. Perhaps he read my last report and was showing the final run-in on Saturday morning will be no foregone conclusion. Muz, DC5, KMK and the Judge were running the reps in the normal way - Muz looking very good.

Saturday should be fascinating with plenty turning up and a few good battles - Uncle Dave and CT, Muz and Durante, me and Kanser and Flakey trying to stay in front of DickyBoy as the 40 minute pacer - I'm picking up DickyBoy on the way there so we'll have a good chat about Superflake encouragement talk.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Crowd today upfront included Stevie T, Kanser, DC5, Muz, Enda, Rich H, English Andy plus a large crowd of others. Notable absentees were Durante, MC and Serg - all secret training. Reps went:

3:34, 3:30, 3:33, 3:31, 3:32

So nice and consistent. I thought that was one of my quickest sessions but looking back on times done in May to August when I was at my best it's pretty average. Just a little quicker than I ran in September. Ran with Muz for all of them with DC5 and Kanser just behind. It was quite humid today so that could have slowed them a little. Saturday's 10km is more about speed endurance though and I've no idea where I'm at on that. Felt good on the last rep though and was able to respond when Muz pushed ahead in the final 300m.

Progression of my 10km races at Lane Cove (most recent first): 33:16, 33:17, 33:31, 34:06, 34:14. Would love to keep that going but not so sure.

Recovery Monday

Out for a very easy 10km jog (46:50) with Kanser, Serg, Muz and Stevie T. Hot today. Kanser's looking strong again and I reckon he could give his PB a shake on Saturday. Will be doing well to stay in front of him. I reckon I've got him in a sprint finish though. The Muz/Durante battle will be one to watch and hope to see Stevie T dip under 31mins. I'll be presenting him with an honorary HuRTS T-Shirt tomorrow on the basis he wears it when collecting his prize on Saturday morning.

Photo attached was taken secretly by a friend of Steve's wife who snapped us on today's run. The photo had reached Steve's in-box before he even returned from the run. It's like Big Brother out there. From left to right it is Muz, me, Steve, Kanser and Serg.

Was checking out this link this evening to Cram's top 5 which I know my Dad will appreciate: http://www.runnerstribe.com/CramsTop5.php

Cram was the local hero when I was just starting running, but I'd forgotten just how good he was in 1985. What's fantastic is that he runs all these races, rewriting the record books, in his local Jarrow AC vest. Jarrow was a pretty small club (much smaller than Striders) but had the benefit of a great synthetic track (albeit only 6 lanes) which I raced on a number of times.

Long Sunday

Usual Manly 10km loops - did 3 but cut short the third by not going around Campbell Parade as I had to get back to get the kids to Nippers. 28.7km in 2:02:43 (4:17 per km). Legs still heavy - have just lost all bounce since Tuesday when I was feeling great. The heel is feeling good today though. Beautiful morning and great to run along Manly beach at 6am (although not so good by 8am). The usual cheery hello from Jenny Wickham as she sped by in the opposite direction at about 18km. She seems to do her Sunday runs at race pace.

CR 5km

Jogged 3km beforehand trying to get the legs moving then took over the time calling duties before setting off with Muz and WildCoyote. They both set off at an incredible pace before WildCoyte dropped off at about 800m. Clocked the first km in 3:00 and Muz already had about 20 yards on me. At this point my legs just went dead - the effects of Thursday's session still inside them. Tried to turn them over quicker but to no effect and with Muz pulling ahead rapidly I was on my own the whole way. 2km in 6:19, 3km in 9:37, missed 4km then 16:16 all up. Pretty disappointed with the time (at least the km's were consistent after the first!) but still a beautiful morning (perfect conditions) and fun to be out there. I'll just treat it as a good speed session and concentrate on getting things right for the 10km next week. All this short stuff is just too painful.

Muz finished in a fantastic 15:42 - he'll run a great 10km at Lane Cove. If I can keep the gap at 34 seconds there I'll be doing well. Jogged back to the start with Muz for 13km all up - 100km for the week.

Recovery

Very easy 10km by myself at lunchtime in 44:00.

10 x 400m

Headed out after work with Durante, Stevie T and Serg to ES Marks to run some 400's on a proper track. Bit daunting at first - plenty of professional types hanging around the track, although given the quality of the guys I was running with, we (or they) were pretty much in that category. Reps were run going straight into a 200m jog then straight off again. They went:

66, 67, 67, 68, 68, 70, 69, 69, 69, 68

Steve was running 62's. Durante ran a fantastic session running 65's finishing with a 64. He'd have the 3 seconds on me by the first 200m. I ran them all with Serg, who despite threatening to pull out all the way through still finished strongly pipping me on the last. Durante will thrash me over 3000m if this is anything to go by, and the 10km at Lane Cove will be shaky. My only excuse is that I was drinking until 2.30am last night (after taking out the Jackpot at Durty Nelly's by knowing what the second deepest lake in the world was). I couldn't have run at lunch so this session was ideal.

We finished up with four 150's - cruising the bend then sprinting. I don't know how to sprint. I tried to move my arms faster to make the legs go quicker but ended up almost falling over myself. Nice beer in the Doncaster afterwards to round out a great evening.

Huge congrats to Tucks and family on the birth of Nia Tuckey. Hope to see you out soon mate.

Easy 15km

Legs felt very tired today. Set out a bit late with Durante to do the usual Wednesday route but after the first marathon pace stretch up to Woolhara Gates my legs were feeling very tired so just decided to do one loop then head back. Garmin got a bad initial reception then cut out but it was about 15km in 1:05. Decided it was better to feel fresher for speed tomorrow than slog out another tough mid-week run. Yeah yeah, I'm just a pussy.

HuRTS - 45mins Fartlek

Flakey - anything but! Good crowd today for probably the toughest session we do. 60 seconds fast, 30 seconds easy for 45 mins. Set off with Stevie T, Serg and Durante feeling pretty good and relaxed into the fast sections. Turned at Mrs Macquarie's Chair and realised we'd had the wind behind and life was going to be a bit tougher. Stevie T had long since disappeared off into the distance (he and Durante are running the 5000m at ES Marks on Saturday so will be fascinated to see what they can do) leaving Serg, Durante and myself to share the pacing duties. We turned further down Hickson Rd than usual (opposite the end of the nicely renovated building) and tried to get home. Passed through 10km in about 33:53 and Serg and Durante pulled up stumps shortly after on 36 minutes. I could see Kanser about 30 yards ahead at that stage so concentrated on trying to catch him. Turned into the now headwind at Mrs Macquarie's and really struggled - there didn't seem to be much difference between the fast and slow sections. However, managed to finish at the statue on 45mins so only 120yards short of the starting point.

Feeling really good in training at the moment. No idea why as the training schedule is all over the place with work and holidays. Perhaps it's biorythmns or something - I hit a purple patch in October last year too.

Followed up with an Easy Tiger massage. I need to keep on feeding him money as he'll shortly be owing me $300. He's bet me $100 on breaking each of 1:55 for 800m, 4:00 for 1500m and 9:00 for 3000m this season. I think he believes he's Peter Pan.

Doubling up

14km very easy with MC, Serg, Muz, Stevie T, Durante and Mike from Nike at lunchtime. Run at about 4:30s. Then ran home. Didn't get the time but felt good so pace was probably about the same as Friday. I could get into this twice-a-day malarkey (probably will need to if I'm serious about GCM next year). Running home is quite enjoyable at the moment - have loosened up by the end of the day and it's good to get all the stresses of the day out before I get home. So 27km all up today.

No Long Run

Weekend from hell on the work front. Had to work all weekend getting to bed at 2.30am Friday night/Sat morning and 1am last night. Just squeezed in 12km today run at 4:30 pace and that felt like a struggle. This hard work is killing me (and my fitness).

Very easy Friday

Plod home from work in the evening after a horrendous day starting at 5.30am. 31:15 at Toyota Garage and 58:28 all up. Felt surprisingly good.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Smaller crowd than usual - Muz, Kanser (looking pale after getting off a 24 hour flight last night), the Judge, Adam, Luke, Chris's G and E and a few Macquarie boys (but no DC5 or KMK). Muz the Judge and I ran in the front group with Kanser just behind. Same story as usual, pushed on the way out to finish just beyond the Stone Gates (reached with 9 seconds to spare), not quite as quick as we used to on the way back (I nearly took a tumble trying to avoid 4 Mums spread across the thin harbour path). The Judge dropped off just coming into Farm Cove and Muz and I ran the whole thing together. Finished just past the bubbler on 5.93km (averaging 3:23s). Warm but not too hot and no wind to speak of.

The Judge is ominously getting fitter.

Not good news for Serg who looks to have picked up a nasty knee injury. Hope you can sort it out mate.

Back to long Wednesday

Back to work today. Joy. Caught up with MC, Ben, new Charlie and Clyde Ros for the usual 19km Centennial session. All but Clyde caught short after one lap of Centennial. Took it very easy today - 12.35 for the lap of Centennial although into a strong wind so it didn't feel comfortable. Lost coverage on the watch after then but I was 51:41 at that stage so slow. Felt very hungry and energy depleted by the end but a good chat to Clyde and pleased to have done it.

At home

15km around home - same as last time but through the playpark at the end rather than up Suwarrow. 15.13km in 59:23 (3:56 pace). Ran the first 11km bang on 4:00 pace all the way then picked it up over the final 4km. Nice run feeling comfortable. Bit concerned about my weight after the holiday though - 67.2kg this morning - about 4kg over ideal race weight. Too many meals out and beers.

NYC and Kangaroo Valley

Just back from a fantastic break in New York then Kangaroo Valley.

New York was great. Was worn out when we arrived from a torrid time at work and the long flight, so decided to recover by going out on a big night in the Big Apple. The stayers were Muz, Ben and Chris (from UBS) after Serg fell asleep in the corner at the first bar. Eventually got in at about 3am but woke up from my sleep on the bathroom toilet at about 5am, so then crawled into bed. Spent the next day trying not to empty the contents of my stomach whilst looking at a few Jackson Pollocks in the MOMA. He's not the best artist to look at while trying to do this. We then had the cocktail reception in the evening where I stuck to mineral water while watching Charlie glug down glass after glass of red wine and thinking my bet that Jeremey would beat him was safe. We (the UBS and Allens teams) had a quick pasta meal before going to bed early hoping to finally catch up on some sleep. The sleep never came. Kept my eyes closed until about 3am while listening to Ash snoring and New York at night but not sleeping. Then turned on the TV for a couple of hours before trying more closed eye stuff. I think I got about 30 minutes before the alarm went off at 7am.

Did my usual pre-race routine and wasn't feeling that bad despite the lack of sleep - at least the hangover had gone and I wasn't drowsy from deep slumber. Did a few sprints and started to feel a bit more confident. The talk before the race was of Stevie T's win in the Striders 10km at Homebush which I picked up on my Blackberry in the morning. He'd been looking in sensational form in training but to convert it into a win over Colin Johnston (the State 10km bronze medallist) in his first competitive race in ages was something. Be sure to say hello to us when you're famous, mate.

The plan from the start had been just to try to stick to Muz and Serg for as long as possible. Got a great start in the middle of the road (you can see from the pictures in the link below) and found myself quite far forward after 500m with slower starters overtaking me. Muz inevitably came past shortly after the first turn so increased the pace slight just to stick to him. Serg came by just before Grand Central Station (shortly before the first mile) and we started to form a group of about 6 of us largely led by Serg. Went through 1 mile in 5:01 which I worked out was 17:33 pace overall but couldn't do the maths when the body was hurting to calculate was 3:06 pace. Most of the next mile was slightly downhill running to 29th St and we just stayed in the same group - Serg, Muz and I at the front. Muz was showing a bit of bravado at the turn by cheering on Charlie and Jeremey running the other way (I was too knackered to manage more than a grunt). After the turn, it's a slight uphill back to Grand Central Station. At this point, I was starting to hurt and hang off the back of the group. Serg was still leading (and looking strong) with a chap from General Electric and Muz was about 3 yards in front of me. Just tried to concentrate at this stage - all the negative thoughts were running through my head but also felt that if I could hold on until the final 600m then I'd have a chance because of more kms in the legs. We came out of Grand Central as a strung out group of 6 and at this point I could see the red cones in the distance where the final turn is. Suddenly felt as though I had a bit of energy so put in a bit of effort to overtake Muz and put some pressure on Serg to see how he'd react. I honestly believe that if he'd put one more effort in at that stage then I'd just have given up but instead I went past and all I heard was him shouting "go with him Muz" or words to that effect. So I knew he was gone but that Muz wasn't, and he's a tenacious bugger. Went round the cones and looked up to see the finish line what seemed miles away (about 600m). Two blokes came past (spirits lifted when I saw Muz wasn't one of them) so I decided just to stick to them and try and let them drag me in to the line. One of them was a pain in the ass as he kept on accelerating past then slowing down and then accelerating again (he got me on the line). Eventually crossed the line with my legs like jelly. Results are below....

http://www.jpmorganchasecc.com/results.php?city_id=18&type=topmale&year=2008

Amazing how much more you remember the shorter the race. I'm sure my 10km write-ups aren't this long. Great night out on Saturday evening capped off watching Manly win the Grand Final in the only Australian pub in Manhattan. Got a bit emotional at this stage so went home to bed.

Arrived home after sleeping for about 24 hours to go on holiday to Kangaroo Valley. Had a brilliant time. Perfect weather, great house, completely relaxing and haven't turned my mobile on in a week. Did 4 runs - three 10kms (38:41, 37:50 and 36:45) and 25km at 4:18 pace yesterday. Heel was a bit sore on the long run but have loaded up on Voltaren and it's better now. Just felt great while running the 10kms which is why they were quick. I'd generally go out in about 4:00 pace and then increase the pace all the way. The 36:45 was a 19:15/17:30 split. Eventually found a 10km out and back route that didn't involve running into herds of cows. The owner of our house told me they were harmless but I'm sure one of them that was staring me down on my first run had no udder.

Attached a few photos taken on 7 mile beach on Saturday.

Big Apple Beckons

Well, I've had to work past midnight every night this week, had about 5 hours sleep each night, I'm still stuck in the office and will be jumping on a 24 hour flight to NYC in about 12 hours. Managed to get out for a 30 minute plod this evening but benefited more from the stretch afterwards than anything else. Sitting in a chair does no good to the muscles.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

Lovely day, good crowd, didn't kill myself during the session, good chat about New York, everything running should be about. Reps went as follows:

9:54; 9:38; 9:50; 9:49.

Ran with Serg, Muz and Durante for the first and second (the Judge joining us on the second) and just Serg and Muz on the 3rd and 4th. Stevie T was so far ahead we lost sight of him - we clocked him at the Stone Gates in under 9mins for the first rep. Reps all felt pretty comfortable although I did push the third when feeling good.

Just easy until Saturday now.

Old Manly Sunday

Ran the old route via Burnt Bridge Creek, Queenscliff, North Head and Tania Park (attached). Took it very easy today - partly because I tend to run my Sunday runs too quick and partly because I was knackered after yesterday. Was averaging 4:30s until 20km but then slowed over the technical hilly bit through the bush at the end. Lovely day and nice run. All up it's 27.29km which I did in 2:05:20 (4:36s).

Just been on the Berlin Marathon website trying to see Kanser finish. Saw from 2:19 to 2:43 but no sign of him - coverage over the finish line was pretty sporadic though. Nice run by Gebrsellassie.

Saturday scared of speedwork

So I ran a steadyish quick tempo instead - route above. Started fairly quick at 4:03s then slowed down loads going along Wood St and through Manly Cove and up the hill to North Head. Reached 6km in 26:20. Ran the Striders marked 2km of North Head quickly (3:26 and 3:20) into a headwind and then contined on with the quicker pace - albeit into a headwind all the way along Manly Beach. Aim then was to get back home averaging under 4:00mins per km which I just did - 15.67km in 1:02:25 (3:59s).

Nice run on a beautiful day but worried about ever having the balls to do a speed session by myself again.

Good luck to Kanser in Berlin tomorrow. He's capable of smashing 2:40 and running sub 2:38.

Blinkin' Nora

Been stuffed at work hence no Blog updates.

Thursday was a tempo run to work - 51:04 after 24:40 (approx) at Spit Junction. Garmin had it as 12.83 this time which is averaging 3:59s. It's a tough run in with all the hills.

Friday was a run at lunch with Serg and Muz. Straight up to Centennial, one loop then straight back. 12.15kms in 47:38. Serg kept the pace honest from the start so that we averaged 3:55s overall but still a nice run on a beautiful day.

Wednesday marathon stuff

Stuffed at work yesterday sat in a meeting looking out at everyone running over lunchtime. Found a small gap in the diary to get out today so met up with MC, Charlie and Ben for the usual Wednesday session. Just cruised it today - feeling great after yesterday's rest. Up to Centennial in 22:03, 12:30 for the quick internal lap finishing on 49:55 but then much quicker coming back home to finish in 1:16:20, including 2:32 over the final quick stretch.

So, almost a PB for the total distance but once again the Garmin tells me it's shorter than I thought - only 18:26km so averaging 4:11s. It'll be interesting to see how it plots the route through Kings Cross though when I get back to put it on SportsTracks this evening. MC going well again.

Easy Monday

The usual Monday route with Serg, MC and Ray. Bumped into a few others including Sparkie (first time I've ever seen him out in the City), DC5 and the Tank. 14:51km in 65:39 so averaged 4:31s. Felt very easy although it was pretty warm again and I was very thirsty and hungry at the end. Feeling a bit faint this afternoon - hope I'm not coming down with something.

Long Sunday

3 x 10km route. Set out with the intention of taking it very easy the whole way - particularly after having friends over for dinner last night and sinking 3 bottles of red between the three of us drinking. First lap was just spent trying to conserve as much energy - went through 10km in about 43:50 having been on 4:30's for the first few km. Felt great at the start of the second lap and just put my head down and churned out the kms in great running conditions. Started to tire during the final lap but still kept the pace at about 4:18's. Ended up with a total of 30.64km in 2:11:30 (4:17 average).

Heel is now sore. It doesn't like long distances. Will apply plenty of ice today and take the voltaren in the hope of keeping the inflammation down.

Mentally weak

Plan for today was the Campbell Road session - 13 x 660m alternating floats and fast. However, things started to conspire against me. I'm not as fit as I was, I could only get out in the middle of the day when it was stinking hot (32C), had to run in trainers and not flats and wasn't in the right frame of mind. The reps went:

2:21; 2:08; 2:28; 2:10; 2:30; 2:10; 2:31; 2:12 - then I pulled the plug. It's probably only the second time ever I've not finished a session. But I was slowing down and really struggling in the heat so decided against flogging a dead horse. Have to say it's also part of the attempt to keep on enjoying my running.

Feel for those running the marathon tomorrow if conditions don't change overnight. Good luck to all.

It can't be true!

Moment of truth this morning. Ran into work with the Garmin and measured the distance. I'd previously plotted it on GMap at just over 13km (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=206274) and the Garmin has been almost identical to GMaps so was expecting something similar.

Started off at a good pace and was aiming to maintain 4:10kms all the way. Struggled with all the hills in the first half getting to Spit Juntion (5.91km) in 25:18 - 4:16 per km. I usually reach Spit Junction in 27-28mins so this was pretty quick. Picked up the pace along Military Road, struggled over the bridge and got to work in 53:22. Probably my quickest run to/from work that was not run as a tempo session. However, the Garmin said it was only 12.73km(!) meaning an average pace of 4:12 p/km. It might have lost a bit in the undercover steps that go back and forth on each other at the end of the Harbour Bridge but not 300m. I think I'll stick with the GMap calculation for now...

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Beautiful day, bit of wind about and almost recovered from a 36 hours hangover. Usual Mona Fartlek today. Smaller crowd than normal with the Sydney Running Festival this weekend but still lots of quality with Stevie T, Serg, Muz, the Judge (making a welcome return), Tri Ry, MC (bringing a female with him, God forbid), Gareth, Pete W and others.

Steve pretended he was running with us for the first 90 sec rep then disappeared off into the distance, leaving Serg, Muz and I to run together the whole way. Serg is obviously trying to play mind games before New York by telling Muz and I that he thought he'd take it easy today and "just run with us" but I heard that heavy breathing towards the end so I'm not so sure. Pushed the first two 60 second reps to reach the Stone Gates with 10 seconds to spare. Struggled as usual over the 3rd and 4th 60 second reps before pushing the 30s. Finished the 20 minutes having covered 5.94km (3:22 pace).

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Beautiful day, cooler than yesterday but still clear. We'd thought the wind had dropped too until we turned the first corner and realised it had been behind us for the first 2km.Crowd up fron was Stevie T, Serg, Muz, new bloke Tri Ry, Durante (still struggling with injury) and myself with Kanser joining in half way around Farm Cove. Kanser, Stevie, Serg and Tri Ry pulled ahead slightly getting towards Hickson Rd before Serg and Tri Ry dropped back to join us just before the turn. Reached the turn (22.30 mins) at 6.49km (3:28 pace). Very quickly caught by Kanser (going great guns) and Stevie then Tri Ry dropped off at the Toaster. Reached 10km in 34:45 when Serg stopped, leaving Muz and I to finish it off (Stevie having long since disappeared off into the distance). Finished just beyond the stone gates for 12.86km in the 45mins (3:30 pace).

If the slow sections were 4:10, the fast sections averaged 3:14. If they were 4:00, the fast sections were 3:17. They felt slower than 4:00 per km but then they also feel slow compared to the fast sections.

Good crowd at HuRTS including Chris G, Springer, MC (cutting short), Enda (back from injury), Adam and English Andy. Sitting here in the office with stomach cramps - just like I used to get when doing hard sessions coming back from injury in March/April.

Starting to show

Lack of recent training is starting to show. Been looking after the kids all weekend so no run until today. Ran the long route in to work - 18.56km in 1:23:00 - average of 4:28. Felt very lethargic at the start, as if the legs had gone soft. One thing about running lots of kms in training is that your legs tend to just become numb when you'd otherwise just want to give up. Didn't feel that way today, just wanted to give up.

Wasn't helped in having to carry a rucksack with files and shoes in, which was rubbing on my shoulders all the way (now red raw). Also 32c today. No idea where this hot weather has suddenly come from but it had me longing for a bit of Winter when running up Parriwi Rd.

Heel a bit tender this evening. It doesn't like anything long or hilly.

Home Truths

The Manly mile is only 1.59km long.

Kirst is away for the weekend so took today off to look after the kids. Due to complications over work I had booked Michelle to look after the kids for 4 hours but my meeting was cancelled so took advantage and went for a run (and lazy lunch). Run was a new variation of an old route - 15.34km in 1:03:49 (4:10 per km) - picture attached. The picture is saved from SportTracks - the new software I've downloaded. Haven't got a clue how it works but it just seemed to pick up all my runs from my Garmin, save them on a very handy and well laid out Calendar and then show pictures of where you actually ran. Then, when you hovver the mouse over any spot on your run, it tells you the exact distance at that point and the elapsed time. How good is that? It's amazing.

Steady run, not wholly comfortable as I'm too busy trying to keep the pace up for the watch. Calves are very sore. Tara indicated this would happen - I've got a new stretch which loosens the lower part of the calf (which was causing the bursitis) but it means I'm now using the upper part of my calves more hence them being so sore, particularly after yesterday's session.

BTW, was looking over the SMH results yesterday in responding to Dave Sweeney and noticed that the bloke I outsprinted at the end of that race was exactly the same as the bloke I outstprinted at the end of City to Surf (Richard Gardiner). Must be annoying for him, but indicates that perhaps my SMH Half wasn't as bad as I thought it was, given how pleased I was with C2S.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Back to Hickson Road. Good crowd including Serg, Muz, MC, Durante, DC5, Stevie T, KMK, Ben, Hamish (getting back into some good form), English Andy etc. Was late for the first rep - saw the group getting ready to set off just as I was getting to the bottom of the steps. I guess I was about 5 or 6 seconds behind. Just failed to catch Muz and Durante who ran a 3:40 so I'm guessing I did a 3:45. The new Garmin was still trying to pick out some satellites at this stage. It doesn't seem to like searching for them when you're not standing still.

It found the satellites seconds before the second rep. From then, the reps were:

3:31 (3:33 on the Garmin but having problems with the stop button - you need to press it without a finger on the bezel which is not my style) - 2:59 per/km
3:32 (2:59 per km) trying to keep up with Muz and Durante who put a quick one in.
3:34 (3:02 per km) trying to catch Muz after getting caught in traffic at the start.
3:35 (3:03 per km) trying to pull ahead of Muz.

DC5 was just ahead on each (although fading towards the end of each). Special mention to Stevie T who is starting to show his class. After running them all from the front in well under 3:30, he ran a 3:13 on the final rep beating KMK running his usual cowboy final rep. New course record for Hickson Road.

Will try to download the data tonight.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Lovely morning, crap day, great evening.

Received all the presents that any bloke could possibly want: a Garmin Forerunner 405, a lawn strimmer and 2 pairs of pants.

Only had 25 minutes to test out the 405, ran about 5km after eventually picking up the first satellite signal (hope subsequent ones aren't so slow). Averaged 4:18per km on the way out and 4:08 on the way back. I can see an obsession emerging here.

Finished up today with a trip to Cirque du Soleil. Some of the positions those gymnasts get into didn't quite remind me of the Tiger massage earlier this afternoon. But ate a load of junk food and had a great time. Have put on 1.5kgs in my almost 2 weeks off.

HuRTS 5min reps

Nice day produced a few more than usual but not the size crowd we were getting 4 or 5 months ago. Front group was Charlie, Steve T, Durante, Kanser, Muz and Serg. I ran the first six very consistently with MC reaching the first of the big 3 trees each time and then returning just past the start point (lamppost beside the drain) - the slight extra distance due to the steep downhill beside Mrs Macs Chair. MC (along with Serg, Durante and Kanser - soft buggers) dropped out after six so had to run the last two with Steve, Charlie and Muz. Kept up with Steve and Charlie on rep 7 (reaching Mrs Macs Chair 20 seconds quicker than the previous reps) and then was dropped by them all on rep 8 before Muz and Charlie faded over the final 500m. Very quick for those two.

No reaction from the heel but lets see how it is tomorrow (Birthday! - hoping for that Garmin 405!)

Easy Sunday

Easy 10km around flat route - bit quicker then Friday. 41:43. Heel still fine although thought I could feel it slightly at times while running today.

Volunteering

No run today but volunteering in appalling conditions at North Head this morning. Couldn't even press the lap counter on the stopwatch at the end my hands were so cold and wet.

Watched Bec in her first appearance on stage last night. She's not hard to spot. Her family members will also be able to hear her quite clearly too. Excitement is a bit of an understatement.....

Easing back in

Just a very easy 8km today with Kanser around the Botanical Gardens. Achilles much better with Voltaren. Will see how it reacts to running tomorrow. Icing loads too.

I'll be timekeeping tomorrow but should be some great tussles out there. Very jealous not to be a part of it. My predictions are as follows (assuming a bit of wind but not too much):

DC5: 32:45
Muz: 32:55
Kanser: 33:21
KMK: 33:34
Springer: 40:00
Durante: 41:23

Refuse to predict a time for MC - just hope he has a great run. I reckon at least one is spot on.

Retrocalcaneal Bursitis

Is what I have.

Treatment seems to be icing, anti-inflammatories, proper stretching and not running any hills or anything strenuous for the time being. Eccentric loading is not good - I had thought that that only seemed to be aggravating the problem. First light run will be Friday and then only alternate days. Still enjoying the rest.

Not a long Sunday run

Too tired this morning, so went out just before 2pm. Half way around the first lap plodding along I started thinking, what the hell am I doing, I could be playing with the kids, spending some time with Kirsten and instead I'm plodding around at a ridiculously slow pace doing this selfish pursuit, worrying about how sore my ankle is and all for what - to be able to run a 10km about 20 seconds quicker than I otherwise - would which no-one but myself really cares about. And frankly, I'm not that bothered. It's safe to say I've lost my running mojo. In constantly trying to improve times, I'm always pushing in training and not enjoying my running an more.

I'd planned on three 10km loops again. I couldnt quite bring myself to stop after one (reached in a mightily impressive 43:53) so, one minute into the second loop, I decided just to run the rest of it as quick as I could. That way, I'd get back to the family quicker and it wouldn't be a totally lost cause of a run. Also had the added benefit that my achilles isn't sore when I run fast. Bit of a Northerly breeze on Manly beach but the second 10k was 36:54 running angry.

Coolrunning 5km

Perfect day for running - cool, no wind and crystal clear. A few of the regulars were at the start including Tiger, Action, Cam Arnold and Hamburglar. Set off on 16:30 but with the intention of running under 16. Gary was the only one near setting off on 17:00. It's just a question of running blind and hoping people will appear. Went through 2km in 6:27 and realised I'd be struggling to beat 16:00 but then caught Gary between 2 and 3km and reached 3km in 9:37 so thought I was back on track. However, lost it between 3 and 4km without anyone to push me. Put in a bit of an effort when I could see the end to finish in 16:11. So no new PB - the weakest one I have remains for another day. Gary looked disappointed with his 17:22 but HB was pleased with a PB in 18:50.

5 mins rest then ran back with Gary at a solid pace - 18:40 for the return 5km.

Recovery run

Very easy jog to work from home in the morning. 28:50 at Spit Junction and 61:09 all up. Achilles sore for first 2km then fine.

HuRTS 12 x 400m

Left achilles has been constantly sore - only relief is when I'm running (when the pain disappears altogether) and when I stretch it thoroughly, including doing the eccentric loading exercises on it. For that reason, I'm not too bothered for the moment.

Headed out today still feeling tired from yesterday. Large crowd from Macquarie (including DC5 and KMK) plus Durante, MC, Scott, Stephen and Luke etc. Wasn't going to push too hard but it's tough not to when you have a front group of DC5, KMK and Durante pushing along. Reps around the marked out track at Rushcutters went:

70, 73, 70, 71, 71, 71, 73, 72, 71, 71, 71, 71.

MC reckons it's 2 seconds long for 400m. Solid start to my first speed session in a long while and a useful base point. Ran most with Durante, with DC5 in front and KMK dropping in and out. Pleased to be catching DC5 over the second half of the final 4 reps. Felt like giving up after 4 but the reserves kicked in.

[Yikes. Just checked out what I did on May 29. In fairness there was a strong breeze today, but I've plainly lost a bit of speed. Hopefully it's been compensated by some endurance. Need to get these speed sessions going more regularly if I want a good time in NY and at State 3km.]


POST SCRIPT: Very bizarre and sad coincidence. I wrote 4 weeks ago that I was coming back from a Tiger massage and saw a jumper on York St and heard him fall. Yesterday, I was walking back from a Tiger massage along Market St and saw that it had been closed off and loads of people were standing on side of the road with an ambulance crew and a fireman's truck with the extendible platform. I've just seen this on the SMH website. I was only watching the bloke get married on TV the night before.....http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/all-saints-star-found-dead/2008/08/28/1219516617997.html

Medium Long Wednesday

Caught up with Serg and MC for the usual Wednesday route. Serg has just come back from Portugal and been sidelined with flu and gastro so it was enjoyable watching him huff and puff up Ocean Street. No doubt I'll only have a couple of weeks of enjoyment before he's putting me to the sword again.

21:35 at Ocean Street before an easy run around Centennial and then a quick lap of 12:07 (quickest yet - 3:22's) mainly as a result of Serg pushing the pace early on. A bit windy in the first half but tailwind helped in the second.

Felt much better running home than last week (hard not to) and finished up in about 1:16:20 for the 19kms. MC getting stronger by the week, very strong on last rep and dropping me on the run up the the finish line.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

I'm getting slower. Not sure what's going on as the training has not let up and the race performances have been good. But can't believe how quickly I ran this session in June based on how I felt today. Reps went:

9:51; 9:25; 9:57; 9:31

It was pretty warm (at last!) but I don't think that made any difference to the times. Decent crowd with the Olympics over and people back from holiday. Charlie, DC5, Stevie T, Muz, Kanser (running very strongly again) and I were in the front group, Serg and Durante were easing their way back in after holidays and Ray, Tim L, MC, KMK, Pete W and a load of others were also around. Charlie, DC5 and Stevie T pulled ahead towards the end of the first rep and were well ahead for the rest. I seemed to start slowly on each one and then catch Kanser and Muz in the second half. The legs just felt lethargic today.

Still, a session's a session and I'm still pretty confident of the overall fitness.

Note: Tried to run to work yesterday but gave up after 2km. Was knackered and the left achilles was very sore. Iced it all day and did some exercises last night and it felt much better today. Need to keep an eye on it though.

Sunday 10km loops

Haven't run a two hour run for 4 weeks with taper for City to Surf and illness so was keen to do 10km looops so I could see whether I'd slow towards the end. Loops went 41:30, 41:37 and 40:22. Felt good on final lap but actually thought it was quicker. A strong Southerly made running down Manly beach tricky, but coming back was a dream.

31km all up.

13km Manly Fartlek

13.3km - GMap attached: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1413865
1 minute slow, 2 mins fast. I've done this once before, on 26th October last year, when I ran 51:43 but was doing 2 mins slow, 2 mins fast. Ran 49:25 today, which averages out at 3:42 per km. Tried to keep the quick sections consistent which meant the slower sections slowed towards the end. Blustery conditions so a good run.

Easy run home

Another easy run home with the backpack but another time I would have classed as quick 6 months ago - 55:45 after 29:36 at the Toyota Garage. I think I'm just very used to the distance now.

Just watched the women's 5000m. Fascinating race, can't believe how slowly they could take it out. How come no-one just bolts? They must have so much nervous energy. I think I'm in love with Tirunesh Dibaba. She's a beautiful looking runner, a complete natural. 2:03 over the final 800m would have had Tamsyn Lewis struggling to stay on.

Argyle St Hills

10 x Argyle St Hills starting from the corner of Harrington St and ending at the lamppost before the entrace to the tunnel under the Bridge. Jog down the short way back as recovery. Again, another smaller turnout but good to see Serg back. Also there was Muz, MC, Hamish, Scott, Tim C, Eoin, plus a couple of others.

Ran the first couple with Muz and Serg, then Serg went off for an easy run coughing and spluttering - sucking in the Oxygen doing hills does no good for a cold. I then tried to hang on to Muz, failed from rep 5 onwards. He then ducked out after 7 resting for Saturday so ran the last 3 by myself. Times went:

1:38; 1:37; 1:37; 1:37; 1:40; 1:38; 1:40; 1:41; 1:39; 1:39.

Disappointed that they gradually got slower (I don't normally do rep sessions this way) but I'm starting to feel a bit stronger after each session so hopefully this cold is going. Looking forward to getting some more sleep some time soon too.

Medium Long Wednesday

19km Centennial Route run with MC and (for the first half) Ben. Usual 3 marathon pace stretches. Felt very comfortable today (although low on energy as I felt starving) which resulted in a quick 12:19 (3:25's) for the Centennial lap (finishing in 49:02) MC was keeping the pace up in between the faster stretches. However, I suddenly felt disorientated and bereft of energy coming up to Bilyard Avenue. Just wanted to eat a jar full of sweets and overload on sugar. MC pointed out it was probably the effects of lack of sleep (haven't had more than 5 hours sleep per night over the past 5 nights due to the Olympics). Seems to make sense as I was knackered over lunch - couldn't think of anything but sleep.

Anyway, struggled to keep up with MC over the final 3km, finishing in 1:16:25. Still a very respectable time averaging 4:01's per km all up.

Hurts Progressive tempo

Beautiful day but numbers are still down, maybe due to the Olympics. Group up front was DC5, Charlie, Muz, Kanser and myself, with Tims L&C, MC and Ray in the next group. Felt comfortable for the first half, turned in almost exactly the same spot as last time and upped the pace but started to feel tired on any hill in the second half. Was dropped by Charlie, DC5 and Muz along Hospital Rd and finished about 20 seconds behind them in the end in 45:10. Well down on last month and most was lost in the final 3km (turned onto Art Gallery Road in 35:17). I'll put it down to the after effects of the cold for now (still got the headache and funny bogeys) ratehr than a loss of form. Muz is looking strong again - expect he'll go well in the Sutherland Half on Saturday - and Kanser is obviously getting stronger by the week hanging on well after a super-long run on Sunday.

Easy run home

Intended to run home very easily in about 60 minutes. There was lightning flashing all around and I was bloody scared coming over the Harbour Bridge as you could feel the charge in the air. Anyway, must have had a good tailwind all the way (I could feel it on the bridge) as I was at the Toyota Garage in 29:57 and home in 56:43 despite it feeling much slower.

Cold is turning into sinisitis as I've got a cracking headache and luminous orange snot.

Fitting in

Kirst was off for an all day course so had to fit in my run before 7.30am. Just 10km (7.5km Manly route but with an extra bit around the eastern hill) at a reasonable pace trying to tire myself out due to missing the long run. Wasn't hard to tire myself out after yesterday.

Still in shock over Usain Bolt. Remarkably reminiscent of Flo Jo but at least he looks a bit more like a natural.

Quickish 16km

Campbell Parade (but back to Kenneth due to bridge still being repaired), Queenscliff, Shelly Beach, North Head and straight home. 65:24. Probably a bit over 16km as I was averaging under 4mins per km. Started off quick, got tired climbing up to North Head (tried to push the hills), 3:57, 3:48 and 3:43 for the measured 3kms around North Head, pretty tired by Manly but pushed Fairlight Rd hill.

Pleased with the run. Beautiful day. Won't predict Spring having arrived yet but it was at least 3-4 degrees warmer than last weekend.

Predict Usain Bolt will win tonight - he's looked awesome in qualifying. Dibaba last night was incredible. She looked as though she was barely puffed running a 60 second final lap to go under 30mins. I reckon she'd be competitive in the 800m on that form. GO PAULA!!!!

Back to it

Caught a vicious Man Cold after City to Surf on Sunday and have been feeling feverish all week until today. Still totally bunged up but felt good enough to venture out today. Caught up with MC and happened upon Kanser half way through. 10km in just over 45 mins.

The good thing about complete rest is how well the body feels. No achilles issues over the last two days and feel great when running for the Jet Cat (as I always end up doing) in the morning. If only I could feel like this all the time. Corollary of complete rest and Man Flu is that I've eaten a bucketload and put on a kilo. But it's been fun, especially sprawled out on the sofa watching the Olympics. I think I may finally be ready for Aussie citizenship after getting genuinely upset over Libby Trickett failing to hold on for 100m Freestyle Gold today. Having said that, Rebecca Adlington looks great for the 800m tomorrow and I'll be screaming her on.

City to Surf - 37th in 46:34!

46:29 chip time.

Finally done this race justice after years of trying! Plan from the start was to attack the hills, both ups and downs, and it really paid off. Caught up with Tucks, Tim C, KMK and Ray beforehand then met all the other HuRT Squad on the start line. Also caught up with Dave Sweeney which added to the nerves as I was keen for revenge from Gold Coast. I was still chatting with Robbie and Mark Warren when the gun went which seemed to surprise everyone. Ran down the hill startled more than anything else, felt breathless up to the tunnel as usual, pushed the downhill to Edgecliff then tried to push up the Edgecliff hill. At this stage I was running with Tucks and Charlie. Felt OK for the first time ever in Edgecliff which gave me a lot of confidence. Pushed the hill down to Double Bay to edge ahead of a group containing Charlie and Tucks but struggled a bit up the hill from Double Bay to Rose Bay. Tucks and Charlie edged ahead here and I didn't have the legs to go with them. Clocked 5km through Rose Bay in 16:02 (a PB). I was struggling on the flat sections (opposite to normal) until I could find a rhythm - eventually did just before the start of Heartbreak Hill. I was running with Nick Bennett at this stage. Again tried to push Heartbreak but was a bit crestfallen when Chadi came flying by - he ran a stormer up the hill. Some bloke on a bike seemed to be shouting instructions to Nick - first to latch on to Chadi but when he disappeared to latch on to me. This actually gave me a bit of confidence as I've never been someone who anyone should think of latching on to up a hill - it's a bit like drafting a toddler on a trike.

From here I was just trying to keep pace with Richard Gardiner and Peter Mitchelmore. We went through 10km in 33:43 so I knew a sub-47 was on the cards. They both pulled ahead slightly on the long downhill to Bondi then, out of the blue, so did DrJH (Jamie Harrison). At the bottom, Jamie had about 15 yards on me and Mitchelmore about 25. Richard Gardiner pushed the slight rise over the bridge so I just tried to stick to him. Rounded the corner on Campbell Parade and thought, this is it, let's just put on a sprint to see if I can catch DrJH. I did with about 100 yards to go and continued the sprint to pip Richard as well (although the results would suggest not Peter as I had originally thought).

Good to catch up with DrJH afterwards - nice to have one of Australia's great distance runners tell you he had his eyes on you the whole race and then to outkick him. OK, he may not be the same runner he was 20 years ago but still a tough bugger. Dave Sweeney ran low 47's which I'm sure he'll be disappointed with but he'll bounce back when he sorts his knees out. Fantastic run by Tucks - 45:46, just behind Tom Crasti (a low 31 10km runner) and beating Chris Truscott (45:5X). Charlie is getting back to top form with a 45:36 and Chadi clocked 46:00. The other great runs were Rob Lansdown with a 47:10 and Kanser pulling a great run out of the bag to clock 47:51 despite being sidelined with a heavy cold all week. Shows he's developed some great strength which will serve him well in Berlin.

Nice chat with all the HuRT Squad after - there's quite a few of us. Congrats to Rich P on impending fatherhood - joining the 4 kid club!

Love this event. Another beautiful day. And the achilles' aren't too sore! For now.

Easy stuff

Very easy 10km running to Glebe to get my IPod fixed then back via Hickson Road. 42:48. Woke up with a sore throat and feeling slightly under but I think I'm beating as I'm feeling a lot better after a hearty lunch.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Smaller crowd today with a lot of people resting up for C2S. At the front end it included Muz, KMK, MC, Ben, Derek and a few others. Decided only to push 3 of them and run through the final 2 so reps went as follows:

3:38; 3:33; 3:31; 3:55; 3:49

Remembered after the first that you have to run flat out to record fast times on Hickson Road. Felt quick but with only Muz keeping up before dropping off slightly towards the end the times were down on last month. KMK did his usual thing of starting off easily then running a blinder on the 5th - 3:22. He has a huge stride in full flow.

Caught up with Gerry outside the changing rooms and he posed an interesting question - who will be the first HuRT squad member home on Sunday. If we discount the prentender Big Mikey H (who I think would be first), I reckon it's a toss-up between Charlie, Tucks and Robbie. Charlie ran a good 10km at the start of July but was off for 10 days after. Tucks has had a couple of niggles from the marathon as well as coming to the end of a training pattern culminating in the marathon so my money is on Robbie. I expect KMK and Kanser will have strong runs too as the course will suit them.

Steady 10km

Flat 10km from work run at a steady pace. 39:17. 19:45 at 5km.

Attack the Hills!

No HuRTS at lunch due to a date with Penny Wong so ran home instead. Decided to attack the hills (both ups and downs). Given the topography of my run home, that's basically a tempo. 27:49 at the Toyota Garage and 51:49 all up. Again felt great.

Achilles was fine all day until I started my run (opposite of yesterday) but then eased up half way through.

Quickish Monday

Flat 10km route from work. Aimed to run consistent 4min kms but I've got no idea about pacing. Thought that 4 min kms would be slightly less than comfortable running. Reached the 5km turn in 18:58 and given I was ahead of schedule I just maintained the same pace back but increased the pace over the final 2km to finish in 37:38. Felt good today concentrating again on the core.

Only concern is that the left achilles has been sore since Saturday's race (I need heel raises for my flats) even when walking. The only time it's not sore is when resting or when I'm running.

Bumped into a load of people out there today - Muz, Charlie, Travis, Dave le Banh and Scott to name a few.

State Relays and Sunday MLR

Sunday

Intended on running the usual Sunday Manly route but got to about an hour and was feeling a bit fatigued so decided to cut it short. 91:06 for about 21kms. 3:54 and 3:45 for the North Head route kms - I was concentrating on pushing all the hills.

Saturday

State 4km relays at Wollongong. Ran first leg with Jeremey Horne second, Rob Lansdown 3rd and KMK final. The usual top crowd - my leg included Tim Rowe, Russell Chin, Ryan Gregson etc. Set off quick as usual then struggled into quite a headwind heading out to the stadium. Managed to form a group with Richie Roberts and Brad Milosovic. Basically, we then stuck together all the way around - Ritchie pushing ahead slightly towards the end and with me just outsprinting Brad. The legs felt very wobbly in the final 300m so it was a solid performance. 12:19 after a 6:03 first lap. 1 second behind Ritchie and 9 behind Robin Whiteley. Jeremey ran 12:15 so I was pleased with the time - haven't lost as much speed as I had thought. KMK ran a great last leg to clock 12:25 by himself and bring the Striders home to 4th overall.

BTW - top run by Durante to run 33:01 at Lane Cove this morning. Grave doubts as to whether I would have bettered that. Also huge congrats to Tucks and Big Mikey H for being selected to run for NSW in the National X-Country - Tim Rowe and Benny St L are only reserves!

Strange day

Caught up with Big Mikey H to run the 19km Centennial route with the usual 3 marathon pace stretches. Reached Woollhara gates in 21.25, then ran the second loop of Centennial in 12:08 (i.e. much quicker than usual) struggling to stay with BMH who was about 10 seconds in front. Finished that at 47:58 feeling again as though I'm struggling with pace at the moment. It seems that what I've gained in strength and endurance I've lost in pace. Felt strong towards the end finishing in 1:14:43 - 3:55 per km pace overall.

Good to get another strong session in before C2S but I'm feeling very tired so will rest for the next couple of days then concentrate more on speed.

Followed up with a Tiger massage - left achilles has been getting stiffer and he certainly worked on that.

Then walked back to the office to find York Street cut off by police tape. A jumper was standing on the top of one of the tall buildings. Quite a crowd were watching but when he started to shuffle closer to the edge I had to turn and walk away. 10 seconds later I heard numerous sharp intakes of breath and a loud thud. Quite shaken up by it.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Very select group at HuRTS today. Everyone is either secret training (Kanser), resting (Tucks), injured (Muz, KMK) or just getting fat (our Portuguese friend). So turnout was Durante, MC, Richard H, Springer, Tim's L and C and a few of the Macquarie boys. Didn't know what to expect today - half intended to take it easy as part of the Arthur Taper but then knew as soon as people started racing off I wouldn't be able to restrain myself.

Ran the first with Durante then he pulled away by between 3-5 seconds on each rep, only intending to run 8-10. He did 10 in the end and still looked very comfortable - will be fascinated to see what he runs at Lane Cove on the weekend. My legs felt very heavy from the first rep. Really struggled to overtake everyone and the whole thing just felt laborious. Haven't felt like this in ages. Gradually it felt easier as the session went on (i.e. when you just feel tired as you always do). Hadn't got a clue what pace we were running as we were starting from an earlier lamp post to the one we normally start at - so decided to run the final rep at the same pace over the Action marked KM. Ran it in 3:11. So to put it all in context:

(a) the reps were quick (Durante must have been running 3:05-3:08's);
(b) there was a lot of wind;
(c) have run 160km over the last 9 days; and
(d) can't think of any more excuses.

Ran the last 2 reps by myself - I was the only one to complete 14. Most did 10 with only Tim L and MC running 12.

Recovery run

14km on the flat around the foreshore with Springer, Ray, MC, Rich H, Christian and Holt Hardy. A very easy 66:13 but the legs were tired from yesterday. I'm going to practice the Paul Arthur taper by resting Thursday and running very easy Friday.

Tourist Trot STaR

A call to arms by Chris Truscott during the week brought out a good group for the STaR today starting inCentennial. 3 Truscotts, Fats, Keith, Kanser, Durante, Steve Hume, Cameron Arnold, Steve Jackson meant we started at about 4:30's and got quicker all the way. Ended up averaging about 4:13s after running the last 10km in under 40 minutes. Lovely morning and a good group.

Good to hear Tucks having another great run in the Cities Marathon, finishing 6th in 2:30.

Quick Hills

Short of time today so just ran 10 hills outside the front door. Nice hill as it starts flat but gently gets steeper all the way. About 330m. Reps went:

59, 58, 57, 57, 57, 57, 57, 57, 56, 55.

Short jog after for about 8km all up.

Easy Friday

Easy 15km dodging the puddles around Centennial with Ray, MC, Muz and Holt Hardy. 66:15.

Tempo run home - PB time!

Shocking day at work - eventually got out at 9.30pm so did my tempo run home. Wasn't expecting much after a big week's training, staying up watching the Tour and stresses at work. But kept the pace honest from the word go despite always feeling tired. Reached Toyota Garage in 26:00 (42 seconds down from when I set the PB in late April). Really pushed the downhill to Spit Bridge as:
(a) I remember writing in my blog that I'd eased off on this section last time;
(b) had in my mind that Cadel said it was as important to practice the downs as much as the ups; and
(c) good practice for C2S where there are plenty of steep downs.
Then pushed the Spit Hill to Sydney Road. Felt really strong on this - hill strength and endurance is coming through. Pushed again along Sydney Road to run 6:43 for the final 2kms. Finished up in 48:45 - a 6 second PB. Real confidence booster feeling so strong in the second half.
Bring on C2S!
Why do I set myself up for a fall every year?