Saturday test

Was in Port Moresby Thursday and Friday with no chance to run.  Couple of days rest was probably what I needed in any case.

Headed out in the late afternoon to do another 5km tempo test.  3 weeks ago I ran 17:46 (adjusted to 17:39 on Strava) for the 2 lapper of Manly Golf Course starting from the corner of Kenneth and Quirk.  Ben Streck had run a 17:08 PB at Parkrun in the am so ambitiously set that as my target.

Went out hard over the undulating first km and was pleased to see 3:22.  A 3:26 followed and through the first lap in 8:32.  The tough 3rd km was 3:32 then consolidated with a 3:28.  Final km in 3:23 for a 17:11.  Strava seems to knock off 7s on the double loop as it gave me 17:04, finally knocking off Banksy's segment record.  Second loop was 8:39 so was happy not to drop off too much.

35s improvement in 3 weeks.  Next up sub17.

8km warm up and down for 13km all up.  Achilles sore in the evening.  6 hours of flying yesterday and the day before won't have helped.

Port Moresby:

 

MLR with Timmy

Out at lunch for what is becoming a regular MLR with Timmy. Chatted about everything from Rory Delap to Port Moresby and a few sidebars along the way.  15km around Centennial and back in 4:50's.

ANZAC Day

Kicked out of the house with the kids by Kirst, I ventured to the dark side to warn them of the perils of going astray. Venturing from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay, we encountered drug dealers (see pic below - my son pretending to pimp out his sister), latte sippers and beards galore.

Once home I got back to basics with a lovely 17km run around North Head with Charlie (the person, not the Eastern Suburbs drug of choice) and the Cap'n.  4:34's.

 

Monday

Still feeling ok (6 days in a row) and it was a beautiful day so joined HuRTs for 10-11km easy.  Chatted to Biggsy and Jac mainly.  Starting to feel more confident.  So much that I've got a bet with Timmy I'll run sub 2:34 in Berlin.  $50.

Sunday

Still can't run early with the Achilles being too stiff before lunchtime but got out at noon and Angus was keen to run at that time.  Did 25km with an extended route up around North Head. Great to have some company and kick off my first official long run post-injury.

Angus was remarking how I seemed to say hello to everyone in Manly before he stopped to say hello to Tony Abbott at Queensie on the way back.  I didn't.

Not the Novice

Down to Scarborough Park in the early afternoon. Wasn't up to running the Novice 10km but Maggie was doing the Under 12's 2km and Charlie decided to take part too as we travelled down there. Great running by both. They were knackered as they fell over the line. Mags ran a great 8:13 for 15th girl. Hard to tell how she did for her age as she has another 2 years in Under 12's.  Charlie was about 30s back.

Got home and, inspired, I ran loops of Nolan's and Passmore on the grass high-fiving the kids on the basketball court as I ran by. Felt great and as if I was moving properly again.  10km in 4:20's.

Friday with Jerome

Just me and the friendly Frenchman today.  But had a great chat with Jerome all the way round, a nicer bloke you will not meet.

12.5km in 4:34's.

Watched another 3 episodes of Thirteen Reasons Why tonight.  Holy crap it's heavy but gripping stuff.  Although I do wish he'd just listen to the tapes a bit more quickly.

Thursday with HuRTs

Jogged over the Rushcutters with the crowd to find Greta having diligently laid out some cones.  Set the group off on the Quarters session and then proceeded to just run it easy myself at the back.  Longer jog back with Q, Scotty and a new bloke called Jake.

11.5km

Wednesday MLR

Missed Timmy due to the worst meeting of my life. Got out eventually and ran to Centennial Park via Ocean St and, still angry, decided on a white fence tempo to see if I could beat last week's time.

First km - 3:32 (same), second km - 3:37 (2s quicker), third km - 3:34 (6s quicker), final 600m - 2:01 (6s quicker).  So all made up in the back half and that's how it felt too.

Achilles a bit sore after but ok this evening. Have a massage with big David Morgan Smith (who sounds and looks like a rugby player) in the am so will take it easy tomorrow.

Back home Monday

Back home and did a loop of North Head in the afternoon. Bumped into Erika on Manly beachfront and ran with her to Shelley.  Gradually increased the pace the whole way ending with a couple of sub 4's for just over 16km in 4:27's.

Achilles a bit sore after so rested Tuesday.

Easter Sunday

Well yesterday was a monster walk doing the 18km from Bundeena to Garie Beach.  I was shagged at the end (and the achilles a bit sore walking in the 4mm drop Sauconys).  Got home and fell fast asleep on the sofa.  I'm turning into an old man.

Woke up this morning though feeling pretty good and with the achilles feeling good again.  Best thing is it seems to heal a bit every night now.  Did my first 20km'er with the first 5km very slow with Maggie, then hitting some hills which kept the pace slow and finally opening up a bit in the final 7 or 8km.  Great to get through this run.  Has been an awesome weekend down here in the Royal National Park.

Red belly black snake:

Good Friday

Staying down in Bundeena and doing the Coastal Walk over 2 days.  Shorter day today doing Otford to Garie Beach.  Just stunning on a beautiful day.  With the whole family and Dad and Liz.  Everyone loved it, with Claudia walking the whole way.  Couple of photos below.

Got back fairly fatigued but got out for an hour around Bundeena in the early evening.  13km feeling pretty good after a great massage yesterday.

70km for the week!

Another Timmy MLR

As per last week, but a bit longer this time circling the park and retracing our steps from the top of Ocean Street.  Plus we added a Mini Timmy Tempo (his request) around the white fence.  15km in 4:42's.

Nice chat, couldn't get "House of Fun" out of my head after Timmy told me he was going to see a Madness concert.  Good to get another MLR in the legs. In fact they're feeling nicely fatigued right now. Might rest tomorrow and run Friday.

White Fence Tempo

Missed HuRTs due to meetings but probably a good thing as I'm nowhere near fit enough to join them yet.  Plan at the moment is just to get some miles in and gradually increase the pace of doing them.  Natural pace is currently 4:40's.  So to get it down I threw in a tempo of the white fence at Centennial yesterday.  Hurt a bit into the wind in the second half as the splits showed (3:32, 3:39, 3:40).  But did the trick with 4:26's all up for the 15km.

Up early this morning for Maggie's session.  She hates the 500's but they're good for her.  2:04, 2:01, 1:55 and 1:59 this morning.  She's pumped to be running for Rejoov at Scarborough Park a week Saturday.

Furthest yet

Well, the achilles was a bit sore, but I've discovered that if I stop every 20mins and stretch the legs then it all seems to hold together ok.  So today I pushed out to 16km.  Would have gone further but ran out of time.  4:41's.

3 youngest on a walk with Kirst this am:

 

Saturday test

Decided to test myself yesterday so did a 3km warm up then two loops of Manly Golf Course (5km).  Decided 18mins was the target - 3:36's.  Well, it was horrible.  Felt like I was carrying 15kg on my back, it's the only way to describe the breathing and leg weakness of being out of form.

Pushed on through and the one saving grace was that the pace was relatively consistent - 3:32, 3:32, 3:38, 3:33, 3:31.  Strava got 17:39 for the 2 looper from corner of Quirk/Kenneth - missed Banksy's record by 5s!

3km warm down for 11km all up. Achilles a bit sore this morning but hopefully ok for a run this arvo.

Huge congrats to Benny (78:50) and Darren (2:50:00) down in Canberra. Awesome times on a tough course. The boys are in form.

Big news today was Mags finally nailed her no-handed cartwheel:

Commute

A month ago we had "National Walk to Work" day and I remember thinking how far away I was from being able to commute in by running.  Yesterday, managed to do that. Had a lunch on so knew it was the morning or never.  Contemplated a run around Manly but decided to try running in with the ability to catch a bus of it got too tough.

Had left my Brooks' at work so it was back to the Mizunos.  Noticed that:

(a) they are much lighter; and

(b) my OP aches returned as soon as I wore them.

But the achilles was ok despite all the hills.  Top of every hill I'd stretch the legs which made a big difference.

1:09:32.  Massive confidence booster.

55km for the week.

Wednesday MLR

Just me and Timmy for a late start loop of Centennial via Ocean Street.  Plenty of banter passed the time quickly.  Achilles a bit sore to be honest, but feels immediately better after I stop and stretch.  It's the tight legs that are pulling on it.

12.5km in 4:50's.

Timmy's tempo (but not hills)

Well, after a blazing argument with Barts we settled on the Domain hills and tempo with me running laps of the Domain car park before the tempo took off.  Took the laps very easy and the tempo more seriously (running with Jeet) and in the end an enjoyable session.

3:56's for the tempo.

Boozy night at the ISDA dinner in O Bar and Grill. Beautiful views of this amazing city. Should come back to this place more often.

Feel like I'm running more normally again rather than like a cripple.

Weekend roundup

The Saturday:  8km to Shelley and back. Decided to push the pace on the way back and run a couple of sub4's.  Lost so much fitness that that spiked my heart rate to 182 and had me breathing hard.  Achilles felt much better for it though. It prefers running fast than slow.  4:19's.

Then followed a huge night at the Harbord Hilton, Shandar Tandoori and Stowaway.  Huge crowd of Manly runners plus some ring-ins from the Inner West.  Great fun.

Sunday:  Achilles felt good enough to go for the trifecta. 10km in 4:34's.  First run that has felt effortless. 

Some photos from last night:

Finally, spent a lot of time with Claudie today and had to post her work list: