Very easy Friday

A few too many Mojitos at The Ivy last night so went out for a very easy run at lunch with Ray, Laura and thingy from Ord over the usual route but cutting back through the City from Circular Quay to sweat it out. Served the purpose but have just wanted to sleep all afternoon. About 12km in 53:56.

HuRTS 10 x 400m - the Return of Wildman and the Stallion!

Over to Rushcutters. Smaller crowd including Timmy, Kanser, Ray, JB, LF Charlie, Andy, Luke and Geoffrey. "Inside Lane" Kane marked out the 400m and off we went and, fair play to the big fella, he was banging them out in 70 looking fairly comfortable. Looks like weeks of running 23km on a Sunday in 2:45 may finally be paying off. My reps went as follows:

69, 69, 69, 69, 69, 68, 69, 67, 69, 64

Turned around after rep 5 and, after doing a double take and wiping the sweat from my eyes, who should appear but Durante and Thurston! It was like old times. After big group hugs and everyone getting a little misty eyed, we set off on rep 6 with the two stars of the Sydney running scene circa '08 helping out up front and, what do you know, I start running a bit quicker. The boys had to have a bit of a sit down on rep 7 but popped up on rep 8 and, whoa!, it happens again. Rep 10 was all in with Young Timmy showing everyone that he can run a mean 350m before the boys helped pull me over the line.

Beautiful day and the oval was in top condition.

Steady run home

Start out, legs feel like deadweights, struggle up the stairs at the Rocks, think what the hell's going, I thought running was supposed to make you fit, bump into Eoin at start of harbour bridge and have a quick chat, start to feel a bit better and feel like I'm running more freely, 16:00 at bottom of Ben Boyd, think that's not too shabby, push the hill, feeling good now, running well along Military Road, Toyota Garage in 29:24, that's not too bad, starting to motor now, push the Spit Hill, hit Balgowlah Boys school in 47:21, can I get under 7 mins for the final 2km?, will give it a shot, 6:45, pleased with that, 54:06, who'd have believed it 50mins ago?

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

MC was absent so Fast Charlie changed the session to 45mins Fartlek. I'd raced to get there on time after a conference call, wasn't really in the mood, knackered after a bad night's sleep last night and generally tired from training. Legs felt like wood but the breathing was fine. I was in a group with Fast Charlie, JF and Dicky H. Kept on trying to up the pace to drop them all, kept on looking over my shoulder to see them all just sat there for almost the entire session.

Turned at the second speed bumps so not very fast but it was also warm today. Got back on 45:13 so a pretty honest session not dropping too much on the hills towards the end. I felt better nearer the end when the legs felt tired like they should in any case. Dicky H dropped off around the Opera House and we finally shook JF on the hill up to the ABC Pool. He's looking strong. Tiger - want to take a head to head on him at the Run for Fun weekend?

Pleased to have finished the session holding on to Fast Charlie but I need some rest to let the recent heavy training load sink in.

Run home

Busy at lunch so an easy run home. 57:54 after 30:57 at Toyota Garage.

Huge congratulations to my big brother, Jamie, who smashed his marathon PB yesterday in running 2:53. Next stop sub 4min kms! Full report here.

Manly Loops Sunday

Recovered well overnight and knew before I set off that it would feel comfortable today. Got into a nice stride early on and it was just enjoyable - certainly for the first 22km. Completely different to 2 weeks ago. The 10km loops went:

42:58
42:09
40:48

So 2:05:55 (4:11's). Weather broke last night and it was cold and wet. Quite a strong southerly which made it a struggle heading down Manly beach but a dream on the way back. 31km all up.

Another hardcore Saturday

Not enough sleep to join the Tiger early this morning so headed out at lunch for the Chloe Tighe session of 2weeks ago. 2km warmup, 5km fast, 8 x Suwarrow hills then 5km fast. 2.5km warmdown. 4mins rest between each.

Times went as follows:

17:22 (8:42 then 8:40)

66, 66, 65, 63, 66, 65, 63, 61

17:24 (8:47 then 8:37)

It's a monster session. Absolutely rodgered now. Really pleased with the time improvement from 2 weeks ago though. 18km all up.

Easy run in

Beautiful Sydney morning (20C, no wind) so ran to work. Nice and easy although legs a bit tired. 27:05 at Spit Junction and 57:32 all up. Bumped into Pete W at Kirribilli and had a quick chat about race plans.

Hickson Road

5 x 1.2km reps. Got a bit nervous beforehand, especially when Ray reminded me of the "Highnometer" predictor of adding up the total time of the 5 Hickson Road reps to work out your JPMorgan CC time.

Good crowd today with Tucks and me upfront, JF and Jason Ibrahim behind, JB still struggling post marathon blues and "One Rep" Kanser making a late showing. Times went as follows:

3:38 3:33 3:34 3:31 3:35

I was hoping to keep them all under 3:35. I ran the first from the front and it felt comfortable which always means it's not quick enough. You have to be in constant pain to make this session solid. I was just in front of Tucks for the first 4 but couldn't hold on to him on the last when Kanser pushed him through to a 3:32. We were also cut up by a car on the final rep which must have cost at least a second or two. Quite a bit of wind on the return reps.

So not quite the pace I was looking for (Tucks said the same thing) but not too far off.

11km all up.

Core and jog

Jogged to Spit Bridge for strength session with Carl at 6am (4km in 19:40), did session then did 13km very easy afterwards nearly all on grass around Campbell Parade. Very slow today, barely got below 4:40's but strength training sapped the life out of my legs. Nice to finish a fairly long run feeling fresh though. Now just need some sleep.

Manly 10.2km Loop

Very easy run around the Manly 10.2km loop. Tired to begin with after yesterday's session but started to feel better after stopping to chat to Thamal when I bumped into him on Manly beach. 44:34.

Very broken night's sleep last night - no more than 2 hours at any stretch.

400s

Had to pick Maggie up from Narrabeen so decided to combine it with a 10 x 400m session on Narrabeen track. Was really nervous about this all day, partly because I was a bit tired from yesterday's run and partly because I'd be running on the track where the distances would be spot on and there'd be no hiding from the times.

Reps went as follows:

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

Straight into a 200m jog between each rep.

So 5 seconds overall slower than the session I did with Wildman, Durante and Serg almost exactly 2 years ago. But given I ran these by myself it's not too bad. Mentally it's bloody tough. After 2 reps, I was thinking I'll stop at 5. Then at 5 it was just, "one more, try and keep it consistent".

Bit of wind down the home straight. I was thinking of Keith struggling in the 3000m on the same track at the weekend. Had an email from Sean saying that Keith ran 25:10 for 8km in Moore Park a couple of weeks ago. If that's an accurate 8km (and if it's the 2km loops it is) he's a bit out of my league at the moment.

2km warm up and down for 10k all up.

Long Manly Sunday

The usual Seaforth, Queenscliff, Shelley Beach, North Head, Balgowlah Heights route. Ran into LF Charlie along Manly Beach and stopped for a quick chat. 10km in 43:00, Stone Arch in 1:11:18 and 1:59:44 all up. Quickest time for this route and first time under 2 hours. Had to run the final km in 3:30 to achieve it though.

Beautiful day and warm but lovely cool breeze off the sea when you could see the water (quite frequently on this route).

Top of back/glutes a bit sore after some beach sprinting at Nippers this morning. They had a parents race and I couldn't resist the challenge.

Claudia Esme Highnam

Born last night, weighing in at 3.2kg and 51cm. Loads of dark hair but otherwise (thankfully) looks like her Mum. Didn't run. In fact, spent the whole day in a comfy chair watching the Commonwealth Games - the marathon, the hockey then the netball. Shelley was inspirational in the marathon.

Today, ran from home to see Kirst and Claudia in the Mater in North Sydney (10.28km). 45:44 on the way there (4:26's). 44:01 on the way back (4:16's). Very tired for the first 6km (struggled to do the first km in 4:35) but felt much better on the way back. Feel like I'm on the verge of hitting some good form. I can tell Kanser and the Tiger are scared. Unfortunately, I don't think any good form will result in any PB's for 2010 as my final 3 races of the year are over distances for which I have my strongest PBs. It will mean 2010 will be the first year in which I haven't set a PB since I started running again properly in 2004.

Wednesday MLR

Out with Kanser and RMR to Kincoppal and back. Nice warm day. 44:59 on the way out and 42:00 on the way back but we took a wrong turn down Thornton St at Darling Point so cut about 90s off the journey. 18.5km.

127km for the week - my highest ever weekly volume.

HuRTS 5min reps

The usual 90s rest. Blustery but sunny day and a great crowd. It was like old times today, with the Judge, the Chairman, Tucks, Dicky H, Johnny Fenton and myself upfront and a good crowd further back. Legs felt heavy over the first few reps but then felt better and better as the session went on. The last 3 were at 3:17 pace, the ones before averaged 3:20 - 3:22.

The Chairman was looking strong, especially running into the wind when the rest of us started flailing. Any rumour that he banged out his 2:35 marathon at Sydney on zero training are wildly untrue though. He reckons he's just been "putting the miles in running to and from work", which works out at 140km per week. He needs to work on his speed though for JPMorganCC. No doubt coach Kanser will be having a quiet word in his protege's ear.

15km all up.

Easy Monday

Usual route with quite a big crowd. Legs felt shattered after the weekend and struggled for the first 5km but then got into it and felt much better by the end. Laura was dragging all the blokes behind her, including MC, LF Charlie, Timmy C, Kanser (getting fitter) and some of the UBS boys. All up 15.8km in 69:33 (4:24's).

Manly Loops Sunday

3 x 10km Manly loops this afternoon after a morning at Nippers. Set off and knew it was going to be a struggle from the first km but decided to hold the pace steady and just hope I started to feel better later on. That never materialized. Fortunately, I bumped into Dicky H completely randomly at 17km and ran with him for the next 7km which got me through the worst bit. Then just held on for the final 7km. Bad stomach cramps at the end which were only dealt with by a carton of strawberry flavoured Oak. I remember someone telling me that stuff is as good as any sports protein drink when I was wandering around Coles a bit later.

10km loops were run in 44:17, 44:35 and 44:22 so at least the pace was consistent. 31km all up and a big weekend.

Hardcore Saturday

Decided to try a session I read about in R4YL. Chloe Tighe wrote that one of her hard sessions was a tempo, followed by 8 hills, followed by a tempo. It's designed to replicate the feeling of running the latter part of races on tired legs. Sounded good so my version of it was 5km fast, 8 x Suwarrow hills (finishing at the large drain) followed by 5km fast. Gave myself 4 mins rest in between. About half way through I realised that this was going to be a monster session. 18km all up including warm up and warm down.

Times went as follows:

17:36 (laps of 8:49 and 8:47)

67, 67, 66, 66, 66, 64, 65, 64

17:31 (laps of 8:51 and 8:40)

Really pleased with the second 5km. I was tired after the hills and just hoping to get near 9 minutes on the first lap. When I saw the time I just pushed on.

Great session.

Easy Friday

Usual 15.8km route with Laura, Kanser and chap from Ord Minnett - 70:27 (4:27s). Very easy lemon squeezy. Beautiful day, Spring has arrived and is here to stay. Good job as Nippers starts on Sunday. Poor old Sally. C'mon Benny. Good on 'ya Rebecca A. Adios.

400s

Over to Rushcutters again, this time with JB and Ray, the latter just intending on jogging around the Oval. Exactly the same session as last week. Reps went as follows:

77, 79, 79, 79, 79, 79, 78, 80, 77, 75

JB was just behind for the first 3 but was complaining of the legs just feeling dead after the marathon. He helped out on alternate reps in the second half.

Really pleased with the session (other than rep 8) as it's a big improvement on last week. Definitely helped having JB there. Was much more tired afterwards than I've been over the past two weeks when I think I was cruising.

Carl's away so did training with Russ this morning. Loads more heavy duty glute and hamstring exercises which left my legs trembling at 7am. Didn't seem to affect the 400s though.

Great to see Benny running the 5000m last night and good performance to finish 7th. Rumour has it he's also doing the 10,000m on Monday. It was a fantastic race for the win, Kipsiro and Kipchoge going toe to toe and not giving an inch over the final 400m (run in 52s - nearly as quick as my final rep today).

Run home

Started to feel confident about the way things were going over the weekend, then woke up on Monday with the flu like symptoms having come back again - headache, streaming nose, aching neck and back and dodgy stomach. Just seems to revert when I put the hammer down on the training.

Took Monday and Tuesday off but was feeling better enough to run home tonight. Was a bit tentative on the early hills worrying about triggering off the symptoms but felt more confident and strong as the run went on. Pushed it towards the end running 7:10 for the final 2km. Splits of 16:01, 29:40 and 48:28 with 55:38 all up.

Tiger massage this afternoon and, of course, another bet. He's runnning Lane Cove in November while I'll do the Run for Fun the next day. I've given him a minute headstart for $50. If I beat him by 90seconds I get $100, if it's less than 30seconds he gets $100. I'll have the advantage of knowing what I have to do with him having raced first.

Great run by Ray on the weekend to win the Penrith marathon in 2:44 (20 minutes ahead of Andy and Timmy C in 2nd and 3rd). Ray won't run 10km's because of his injury, but reckons the slower pace of the marathon is fine. He's a unique chap.

Commonwealth Games 5000m tonight. GO BENNY!!!!

$10 to anyone who can name the Sydney Olympics 5000m champion without looking it up...

Harbourside Hike STaR

Clocks went forward last night so had to get up at the equivalent of 4.40am to do this one. Unsurprisingly there was a small crowd with just JB, Pete T, Jo Cowan and Shaun A joining in the 6.20am group. Only Shaun planned to do the full distance so the others cut away after an hour. Couldn't believe how much bush running there was on a run so close to the City centre, and the severity of the hills. Made for a very slow run. Shaun cut short after 23km so did the last 7km by myself picking the pace up a bit. 30kms all up but about 2:30 on my feet.

Striders 10km Homebush 3rd in 34:28

Didn't know what to expect this morning. It was a low turnout due to the long weekend and school holidays with only Robin Whiteley of the front runners. Set off quite quickly and shortly formed a group with Tucks and another chap who seemed to be a mate of Robin's. They were pushing along so I forced myself to stick to them to get dragged through. Went through 1km in 3:13, but 2km in 6:38 so knew it wasn't going to be quick. Really don't like this course - too many twists and turns to break the rythmn and it always picks up any humidity.

Just ran with Tucks until 5km (17:03) where other chap droped out. Then Tucks started to gap me. I was a good distance ahead of 4th so just tried to keep the pace honest for the rest of the race. Funny that beforehand Kanser said on this course you can take your time at 5km, double it and add 25seconds, which is basically what happened to me. Tucks did well to negative split and run 34:00, probably closing on Robin in the process.

Another good solid run in amongst a hard block of training but truth is I have to improve by a minute in a month to be where I want to be. Most of the HuRT squad struggled today, Kanser running a high 36, MC running a high 37, Timmy struggling with injury in the 39's. Dicky H was the exception improving by a minute from last month to finish 5th in 35:21, ahead of the Tiger.

Nice to win a cap and pair of shoes. About the only Striders race in the last 5 years that 34:28 would permit that.

Easy Friday

Very easy 12km run on the usual harbourside route but cutting short at Circular Quay. Ran with Scottish chap from BT and Laura, with King James and a few others also around. Ray joined in later. 54 mins.

400s

Busy today so arranged to meet up with Kanser early doors for some 400s around Rushcutters Oval. Beautiful day, about 19C but crystal clear with a slight breeze. We ran full loops of the Oval (448m) rather than trying to work out where 400m was, did a 1 minute jog between each one and started the next loop whereever we were at the end of the minute.

Reps went as follows:

81, 82, 81, 81, 82, 81, 80, 80, 80, 79.

So between 70-73s for 400m. Didn't kill myself doing them so I think there's more to come. Listened to Dave Sweeney's advice and tried to relax while runing them.

Really nice session. Warm up and down for 10km all up.

Easy Wed

Slightly longer this week just running the Monday route by myself. Bumped into Dicky H, Sam and Andy along the way. 33:45 at the turn and 66:45 all up for the 15.8km.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

26C today and sunny, conditions we haven't had in months. As a result, I started this toughest of sessions pretty conservatively so as not to kill myself later on. The last time I did this session was when I had a cold post City2Surf which put me out of action for 3-4 weeks. Ran with Tucks, JF and Dicky H. Smallish crowd behind us including MC (getting pretty fit), Kanser, Timmy L, LF Charlie, RMR and others.

We averaged about 3:22's (900m). Picked up on reps 11 and 12 (after Tucks and Dicky H pulled out) but had to run the last 2 by myself which went back to 3:22's. Not too shattered at the end so OK with that.

Great views around Farm Cove today. Gotta love this Summer weather. Timmy was walking with a limp at the end of the session but I don't think it had anything to do with his stress fracture.

Easy Monday

Very easy Monday route with MC, Brendan, Kanser, Timmy C, LF Charlie, Warrior Luke and others. Picked the pace up with Brendan from the Opera House home. 15.8km in 1:10:08.

Blue Mountains

Saturday was another 10km tempo. Ran from the rental house to Evans Lookout and back. Felt great on the way out. Realised why on the way back where hill upon hill appeared. Gmapped at 10.4km. 39:17 (but 18:54 at half way). Stopped at Evans Lookout just at sunset and it was magic.

Theme of hills continued today when I was out at 6am for a 2 hour run. Ran from the house straight down into Megalong Valley, turned around after 59mins then ran home. Megalong Valley is 400m closer to sea level than Blackheath, and the final 6km was straight uphill with no respite. So it took a bit longer to get back. All up 26.4km in 2:03:20.

Megalong Valley is a beautiful spot so went back afterwards for a walk along Six Foot Track, hence the picture...

Easyish Friday

Just a jog to work. Beautiful warm morning which made it a pleasure. Not such a pleasure for the residents of Balgowlah, Mosman, Neutral Bay and Kirribilli who had to face my pasty white skin for the first time in months. Highlight of the run was almost stepping on a 1.5ft long Eastern Water Dragon in Clontarf.

Tired today. 106km for the week has caught up with me. 27:10 at Spit Junction and 57:38 all up.

Not quite 400s

Took a 5km detour to jog over to Rushcutters, found the Oval closed so marked out what I thought was roughly a 400m track around the fields next door. I think it was closer to 315m-320m, but after the first rep I wasn't going to change it so decided to run 13 of them instead of 10 to keep the overall distance about the same. Reps went:

56, 57, 57, 57, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 55

Strict 45s rest between each one.

Good to keep them consistent but wasn't lactic or dizzy at the end as I would be if I was pushing myself against others.

Jogged back the long way for about 13km all up.

Easy Wednesday

Tried and failed to get out at lunch so ran home. Was going to extend it to 19km but was feeling tired so decided not to push it on the first proper week back. 30:10 at Toyota Garage, 48:48 with 2km to go but then caught Lucy Chapman so jogged back with her chatting all the way. 57:56 in the end. Didn't realise she lives in the street next to ours. Will try and catch up with her and Dickyboy for some Saturday sessions.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

It did HuRT today. Beautiful Spring day but a small crowd due to the running festival over the weekend. Young Timmy rocked up but is becoming Kanser-like in his injury woes. MC was there with Todd, JF, Marty, King James, LF Charlie, Pete W and others but only Tucks and the Judge seemed to be taking it seriously. I tried to hang on to them but they had gapped me by Mrs Macquarie's Chair. From then on I was on my own. Turned half way down Hickson Road (between the 2nd and 3rd speed bumps) so a fair effort but struggled to get back. Tucks roared past around Circular Quay as I limped back home, only managing to reach the Art Gallery on 45mins. But to put it in context, Tucks went through 10km in 34:00 and I guess I was about a minute behind. Another session in the bag and it's been a while so I just need to harden the legs up.

Easy Monday

Just the full Monday route with Wildman (grrr) and Kanser for part of the way. 15.8km in 69:48. Nice and easy.

Long Manly Route

Hadn't done this in a while and knew I'd run too quick if I did the old flat 10km loops so planned to do this very easy. Felt great to start with and was slowing myself down. 43:27 at 10km, 1:12:05 at the stone arch and still feeling great. Only started to run out of energy coming along the Manly to Spit section (unrecognizable now they've improved the path). Finished in 2:01:12 - one of my quickest times for this route. Hopefully means I'm finally over the bloody bug.

Frustrated not to be out there racing today. Some mixed results. Sounds like Darren had a flyer, JB sounded disappointed with his 2:38 but Sydney probably isn't the course to run quick. CT ran 2:43 so I should have taken him up on the bet. JF won me $50 after toasting the Tiger. Robbie dropped out of the half at 14km.

.....just notice that Mike Race smashed through the 3hr mark with a 2:56 - fantastic result mate and well deserved.

Manly 10.2km

Haven't done this run in a while but fancied throwing in a couple of hills and only had a 45min window. Went off pretty quick and maintained the good steady pace. 15:05 at Queenscliff, 21:08 at Manly SLSC and 38:38 all up. Bumped into Dickyboy at Queenscliff. Like my Manly tempo runs.

Good luck to all running tomorrow. GO JOHNNY FENTON!! TAME THE TIGER!!!

HuRTS Hickson Road

Rocked up to a small crowd due to Sydney Marathon Festival this weekend. Just planned on rolling through the reps to see how I felt. Ray, Chris G, Todd, Marc, Darren and a new chap called Josh Rix were there. Turns out Josh is a pro-triathlete sponsored by the Giant team so was pretty handy. Reps went as follows:

4:00
3:45
3:46
3:41
3:41

Felt pretty comfortable and didn't smash myself but I'll be playing it cagey for a while.

Big race for Benny this weekend. Not least in that he's running on hallowed turf (the streets of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne) but also that he'll be up against Mottram (Aussie 5000m record holder) and Collis Birmingham (Aussie 10,000m record holder) in the first race they've all been in together in a long time. If he can beat them both he'll pretty much establish himself as the current top distance runner in Australia. Apparently not tapering for it though. Dad, make sure you're there...

Run home

Busy at lunch so an easy run home. Was quite quick though due to the amount of rest I've had recently. 30:05 at Toyota Garage and 56:50 all up. Nice clear night. Spring has arrived. Praise the Lord.

Starting new program

Felt slightly dodgy all last week. Started to feel worse on Saturday, first nauseous then started throwing up in the evening. I reckon I've had a low level gastro bug since the week after C2S. Feeling better enough today to try a 6km easy jog. Ran past the boys doing their 4 x 10mins. Not concentrating on anything other than getting well and fit enough for JPMorgan/State 3km in 8 weeks time.

Sick note

I am Darren Anderton.

Decided to take the week off. Came down sick again after Sunday. Same thing again, flu-like symptoms. Shouldn't have raced on the weekend. Need to be careful as it's been almost 4 weeks now.

Middle Harbour Picnic STaR

Small crowd at the 6.20am group of JB, CT, PT, Flakey, Steve Hume and Jo Cowan. Nearly all are running Sydney Marathon so were only doing 25km as a taper so I stuck to that too. Lovely day for it (although still a bit blowy). Struggled on the hills though, not sure whether as a result of yesterday's race or the lingering effects of the virus. Pace was very easy. Feel pretty average now with aching shoulders and a slight headache. 2 hours exactly and 25.2kms.

Striders 10km North Head 10th in 34:25

Showed up to find the unofficial HuRT Squad 10km Championships forming. Massive crowd including JB, Andy, Tucks, Darren, Timmy, Kanser, MC, TB, JF, Rob, RMR, Dicky H, Richie P and Geoffrey. The Tiger and Bleasel were also there, setting up our bet nicely. Conditions were pretty shocking - strong blustery winds and raining. I wanted to take it easy at the start as I was worried about how the effects of the illness would play out so plan was just track Tucks as he never goes off quick.

Went to plan to start with - nice sedate start then we started picking our way through the field. First km was reached in 3:18 and was feeling fine. JB, CT, Uncle Dave, Thamal and a triathlete were in a front group having gone off very quick. I started to climb the hills and immediately knew it wasn't going to be my day - the legs just felt dead. Heard the masses gathering behind me. Then started to try to pull away along the long straight over the speed bumps but it was direcly into a strong wind and all I was doing was providing a wind shield for everyone else. As soon as we turned at the Hospital the crowd (including the Tiger, Andy, Bleasel and Darren) started to pull ahead. I was now running again with Tucks who also seemed to be struggling. Stayed this way until 5km (reached in 17:10). I was considering pulling out at this stage but knew I'd never live it down so just carried on. Then Tucks and I seemed to get into a rythmn and the Tiger started coming back towards us. Soon after we picked up Brendan Davies and then Bleasel and another chap. All was well with the world again. Then I started to think about trying to beat Tucks but at 9km he seemed to put a surge in which I just couldn't be bothered to bridge. However, a bloke behind started to catch and I wasn't going to allow him to beat me so sped up to hold him off. In doing so I started to catch Tucks. A bit annoyed that I didn't put more effort in but there you go.

So mixed feelings. Managed to salvage something from what was looking like a dire situation at 5km. Almost an even split (17:10, 17:15). Affected by the recent illness so hopefully things will be better in 2 weeks at Sydney Half. Timmy was far more affected by recent flu and struggled in 38:xx so $50 from him but Gary pulled a fast finish out the bag to overtake a tiring Bleasel in the final km to take $50 from me. In fact, Bleasel must think I have a set plan in these races as I've overtaken him with 2.5km to go in our last 3 outings at North Head.

JB was a bit disappointed to be beaten by CT but has huge km in his legs so will come good after a taper for Sydney Full. Andy had performance of the day to run 34:00 in bad conditions. In fact, Steve Jackson said that the course was 20 seconds long as they put the 3km turnaround marker 50 yards too far down the road. I blame Fats. He plainly didn't want anyone PB'ing. Other great performances were Gary's 34:49 and JF finishing just in front of him. Kanser was smiling like a Cheshire Cat to beat Timmy and run low 36.

Great to catch up with everyone before and afterwards. Didn't stress so much about this race this morning and it makes the whole event much more enjoyable.

Easy Friday

Gerry took a few photos on Tuesday of our session. First (from left) is JB, Tucks, the Judge and JF. Second is Kanser and myself. Third (from left) is RMR (sunnies and cap), Christian (cap), Todd (sunnies), Kanser, Jamie, Dom and MC.

Just a slow jog after work half way home finishing at the Toyota Garage in 32:06. Still feeling slightly off with a light head but will race tomorrow and just see how I feel. It won't be pretty but I need some hard sessions in the legs before Sydney Half.

Curry Club was relatively sedate compared to previous outings but can heartily recommend Darbar on Glebe Point Road. But why does everyone insist on drinking Kingfisher when they order Indian?

HuRTS Hickson Road

Woke up this morning for the first time in 2 weeks feeling vaguely OK, so immediately decided to push today's session as a kill or cure test to see whether I run on Saturday morning at North Head.

Reps went as follows:

3:34 (3:01 pace)
3:32 (3:01 pace)
3:37 (3:04 pace)
3:34 (3:03 pace)
3:58 (3:22 pace)

Felt pretty free and easy on the reps but by rep 4 I was starting to hit the red zone and was developing a headache so decided just to run through the final rep. Had Darren on my shoulder for the first 3 reps with Andy (who went on to run 3:35 for the final rep) very close behind him. Feeling a little bit under now but not too bad so things are looking up. However, got Curry Club with the boys tonight so that could put me back to square one...

Smallish but nice crowd today - Brendan, Dom, Ray, Todd, Geoff and Bill all showing up with Anna running well too. Will be interesting to see how she goes against Laura in upcoming races.

Wednesday MLR (not)

Caught up with Kanser, Rob, RMR, Brendans (x2), Andy and others for the Centennial 19km route but was never really feeling great and with another headache pulled up short by running straight back from Centennial half way around. 12.5km in 56:30 (4:31's).

HuRTS Progressive Tempo

Still not feeling right so took it easy today. Hung around at the back but it was a bit slow so joined MC's group with RMR, Kanser, Jamie and a few others. We turned at just over 5.6km on 23.5mins (i.e. about 4:10 pace) feeling very comfortable then Kanser picked the pace up a bit. He pulled up at the Opera House gates leaving Jamie and I to finish off. Jamie was pretty strong pushing the pace around Farm Cove and we ran together back to the gates in 44:19 (i.e. about 3:42's for the return). Felt comfortable enough not to trigger off any nasty reaction from the virus. A massage this evening has stirred up all the free radicals but will drink a load of water and see how I feel tomorrow before deciding whether to do North Head on Saturday or offer to marshall.

Kanser's getting confident about staying within 20s of young Timmy whilst our Stoke City reject is playing all manner of mind games on the big Irishman.

Easy Monday

Very easy 15km with the usual crowd but joined by Kanser who I haven't seen for a while. Felt fine running but got a headache again now. Beginning to get pissed off by this...

Easy recovery

Another very easy run - 26 mins around Manly. Feeling much better than yesterday and a beautiful day. Made me wonder why I don't just do this everyday.

Recovering

Diagnosed with sinusitis on Wednesday so am on a course of antibiotics. Felt crap until this morning so ventured out this afternoon for an easy run. Lasted 15 minutes before a headache came on so cut short for 25 mins all up. Had planned to try a long run tomorrow but won't bother now. Just want to knock this illness on the head as I've had it for nearly 3 weeks now.

Jamie - I use Endura Optimiser (the powder form) although Carl is recommending I try the one with protein or whey in. Works a treat helping recovery from long or tough sessions. So you probably don't need it.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

The usual session off 60s rest. Crowd upfront included JB, Fast Charlie, the Judge, JF and Andy with MC, King James, RMR etc behind. Laura James showed up again. She's going to improve massively if she keeps on doing sessions like this.

Felt heavy legged from the first rep today and had to break it down in sections to get through the session. Ran the first 2 reps with JB and Fast Charlie but then they were just too strong, finishing each rep about 30m ahead (i.e. about 7 or 8 secs per rep). I started to get closer to them after rep 8 then ran the last 3 reps with them. Distance and average pace were as follows (discrepancies due to stopping the watch at 3:00, 3:01 or 3:02):

912m (3:19)
916m (3:19)
917m (3:18)
915m (3:18)
916m (3:18)
908m (3:20)
921m (3:17)
918m (3:18)
912m (3:18)
919m (3:18)
933m (3:14)
925m (3:15)
953m (3:09)
947m (3:12)

Pleased to have kept them consistent on tired legs. Need to get some more Endura. I'm addicted to the stuff. It's probably got EPO or steroids mixed in it or something.

Easy Monday

Very easy Monday route with a large crowd including MC, Brendan, Rob, King James, Ray and others. Felt very tired to start with but the pace was very easy. Turned at 7.5km (last bit of Barangaroo shut off) on 34:20 and back for the 15km in 1:06:40 so it picked up a bit on the way back. Felt better as the run went on.

Long local Sunday

Just did 10km loops today. Thought I was going to struggle after yesterday but felt great just coasting along. The 10km loops were run in 42:00, 41:38 then 40:38. Started to feel it a bit from 20km and the final 5km was a struggle but I haven't done a long run for a month so not unexpected. Seem to be in a bit of a purple patch at the moment.

Saturday tempo

Ran the same route as last week (14.1km) as a tempo, which I think I'll be doing more regularly. Struggled to find a rhythm in the first 2km but then settled into a decent clip and just ground it out. Felt pretty comfortable from then onwards. Finished in 49:49 (3:33 pace) so really pleased with that. Splits were 15:43 at Queenscliff SLSC, 24:37 at the turn at Shelley and 33:37 back at Queenscliff.

Bit of wind but perfect temperature this afternoon. Still got a tight chest from the cold which is why I rested yesterday.

Not running Pub 2 Pub tomorrow, got to take Bec to Band Camp and received an email from Thamal's wife saying he was running so any remote possibility of a win was out of the window.

HuRTS What's the bloody point

Coughing my guts up all morning. Otherwise felt fine so rocked up to the session after a 3km jog. Ran quite hard with Darren and the Judge until my shoelace came undone near the Art Gallery. By this time my cold was beginning to affect me - would have made the Stone Gates if it wasn't for stopping to do the shoelace though. Then on the way back the floats became jogs and the sprints were ending early. Just got back to the Opera House Gates on 19:55. Bloody waste of time. Need to shake this cold so may take it easy tomorrow.

Jogged back around the course with Conor and the Judge to make it 12km all up. 24C today - a relative scorcher. Hope Winter is going.

Wednesday MLR

Missed lunch so ran home but added my Manly route on at the end - basically a reverse of the Wednesday morning run I used to do 2 years ago with marathon pace stretches. 19km in 1:23:47. Felt pretty tired with my legs suffering from yesterday's session and strength training with Carl this morning. Got into it in the second half though.

Massively hungry when I got home. Had to steal a packet of Love Hearts from the kids after my dried apricots ran out.

Congratulations to Kanser and Olivia on the birth of Conor Lachlan Kane. Dave said he looks like a sub 2:40 man already. Young Timmy quipped that it was a shame to question his parentage so early.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

The big news of the day is that Tucks is back. Patently he's been deceiving us all on tales of only running 40-50km per week.

Had a shocker this morning in forgetting my orthotics so tried to improvise by cutting up an old pair of insoles to little effect. Just gave myself blisters. I was feeling pretty good after a good rest since C2S but was worried about the cold I've got so planned just to take it easy. That went out the window after 50m with JB running off the front so thought, bugger it, lets just have a go. JB, Tucks, the Judge and I ran together until the Opera House when the Judge dropped off. I kept on expecting Tucks to drop but the tenacious bugger just stayed there, barely breathing as usual and coming out with well formed sentences such as "nobody's talking much today"! We reached the Park Hyatt (start of the 2km reps) in 16:30 so I knew we were on for a very quick one. Eventually turned just before the final speed bumps at the very end of the Hickson Road reps. I only had my stopwatch on and Tucks said something along the lines of "don't ask what average pace we're doing". So I didn't.

JB started to drop off under the Harbour Bridge and until then I'd been feeling great but it suddenly started to hurt a bit. I'd be checking the watch with 30 seconds to go on the fast stretches rather than 10. Finally we got to the Opera House and Tucks mentioned that we'd just gone through 10km in 33:54 and that he was taking it easy back. By myself the incentive to push on was tough and I took 10:24 to get back from the Opera House Gates. Got back 34 seconds over the 45mins. We turned at 6.6km (3:24 pace) and I was about 150m short coming back so I'm guessing 13.05km all up.

Some good running out there today. Timmy was strong getting back under 45mins and JF held me off going up the hills at the end. We even had 2 girls join the group today. MC didn't seem much interested in chatting to us afterwards. He was making sure the new recruits felt welcome.

Getting back

Stomach bug morphed into a cold but felt just about well enough to run home this evening. Effectively a week resting meant I felt great all the way and it ended up being pretty quick as a result - 56:07 with 29:50 at Toyota Garage. Beautiful evening for running. Winter seems to be on the way out.

Fitting it in

Had a stomach bug over the past few days with fever symptoms - seems like the whole office suffered the same thing. Looking after the kids all weekend with Kirst away so had arranged a babysitter to come in to go for a run. Still wasn't massively keen on running but couldn't cancel the sitter so went anyway. Discovered a very flat new 14km route which I did in 59:07 - 30:30 on the way out and 28:37 on the return. Continued on my sprint home straight to the dunny.

Watched the London Diamond League this afternoon. Highlight was Dibaba in the 5000m - she's had a quiet season but still showed everyone her devastating speed (58s last lap) to win in 14:36. Will be interesting to see how Gregson goes in the Mile tonight.

Wednesday MLR

Been a lazy arse over the last 2 days so dragged myself out for the usual Wednesday run with MC, JB, Laura, RMR and Christian today after core strength with Carl this morning. Had a pit stop at Rose Bay so didn't get to the top of Kincoppal making it only 18km in 1:28:06. Very easy.

Then had a Tiger massage where two new bets were laid (after paying him $50 for my Timmy bet at North Head):

1. $50 on Tiger not beating Jonathan Bleasel at North Head in September (if anyone knows who Jonathan is, please tell him to keep up the training - we think he's the young red-headed chap who has looked pretty handy at Striders races this year).

2. $50 head to head me versus the Tiger at the Blackmores Half Marathon but comparative to our Half PBs (1:15:54 for him and 1:12:21 for me). Whoever beats theirs by the most wins the cash (or who gets closest if neither does).

This is basically how the hour of my massage is spent - coming up with increasingly elaborate but close-run bets...

Results of City to Surf here. Pleased to finish in front of Nick Bennett (reversing our positions at Short Course X-Country) but slightly disappointed to get close to CT without getting a win.

City to Surf - go Benny!

First of all, huge congratulations to Benny St for the win. Watched it on TV this evening and it was inspirational stuff - outsprinting Shelley in the home straight. Exactly to plan.

Rushed to the start throwing my bag in at the last minute and bumping into Dicky H in the process. Went and did a warm up with him bumping into Tucks, CT and Fats. Was late to the start line and we all got squeezed back needlessly behind some token white line. Loads of people I recognised around including Matty P, Richard P, Phil W etc. Suddenly we were off and the mad sprint down William St occurred. Found plenty of space on the left and all was good. Saw JB up ahead which was as close as I got to him all race. Was breathless by the tunnel as usual but started picking up places going up to Edgecliff then again through Double Bay. I was running with Keith and Lara Tamsett (lead female) at this stage with the motorbike filming Lara getting in the way a bit. Got my first split at 5km of 16:25 - 20s down on 2 years ago but I was still feeling fine so wasn't too fussed. However, Keith and Lara and a group of 3 others started to gap me going around Rose Bay - I just didn't seem to have the speed on the flat.

Started climbing Heartbreak Hill and suddenly they were all coming back to me - everyone seemed to be running it really slowly. Keith suddenly stepped off the road just as I caught him but just concentrated on catching Lara which I did at Kincoppal (as the hoardes of girls cheered her on). But again on the flat at the top of Heartbreak she started to gap me. From here on I was pretty much on my own. I was staring down the back on one chap who finished one place in front of me to avoid losing too much time but I think my "splits" reflected the fact that I had no-one to run with here. I reached 10km in 34:05 (so my 5km to 10km split was quicker than 2 years ago) but ended up with 47:10.

I had 4 aims before the race, top 50, sub 47, beat JB and Keith. I reckon I was 43rd (will find out Tuesday) so 2 out of 4 ain't bad. Bit disappointed with the time though.

It's a bloody tough race. It encompasses everything - really quick start and first 5km, big long hills and short sharp ones, big fast sweeping downhills and a fast finish. Need to get some more races in me and some more tempo runs. But Pub 2 Pub in 2 weeks, North Head 2 weeks later and Sydney Half 2 weeks after that should see me well by the end of September. Good to catch up with everyone in the tent afterwards. Tucks ran well (48:40) off 40km a week, Timmy will probably be disappointed with 51:00 and Kanser held up with a 53.

Pre-race Nerves

Just a very easy 5km jog today down to North Steyne, South Steyne then back. Left orthotics at work and achilles could feel it so stopped early.

Very easy run to work

Bloody cold this morning (about 11C), so rugged up for a very easy jog to work - Skins, hoodie and backpack. Just jogged in dead easy - 28:30 at Spit Junction and 60:20 all up. If the weather is like this on Sunday it will be perfect.

Picture is Harbour Bridge webcam as of now - check out the flags.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Seems like ages since I ran the Hickson Road session properly, but I wasn't about to start today only 3 days out from the big race of the year. It's the original but still probably the hardest session we do when you do it properly.

Just cruised through each rep in 3:30 pace (i.e. 4:04 - 4:08) with a 30 second burst mid-way through ran fast. JF was out front on each rep (Mad Man Moyle with him for the first 3) and asked to be paced through the last one so ran that one in 3:38 (3:05 pace) - Ray joining in half way through as he likes to. They all felt really comfortable.

Massage with Bianca last night (that sounds dodgy, it isn't!) and I'm feeling great at the moment but am a bit worried because I don't normally feel like this before I run well. Normally before a good race I feel lethargic and fearing the worst.

A few random predictions from me for what it's worth:

Benny St: 40:39
Thamal: 45:28
JB: 46:12
Truscott: 46:13
Bateman: 46:28
Andy: 48:30
Tucks: 48:59
Dicky H: 49:10
Young Timmy: 50:01
Flakey: 54:30

Easyish run to work

Core strength training with Carl this morning then a jog to work (busy at lunch talking). It started out as a jog, and felt pretty tired to begin with, but then started to feel better and better running on another beautiful Sydney Winter's day.

26:45 at Spit Junction and 55:54 all up.

HuRTS 5min reps

Bit of a concern about our "Chalet" for post City to Surf based on this photo after last night's storms...





Plan for this week is to taper by reducing the volume but no so much the intensity. So showed up today planning to run 4 at normal pace and 4 easily (the session is 8 x 5min reps off 90s rest). Set off with Charlie and JF just behind feeling great although it was pretty blustery out there. Finished the first rep beyond where I have done recently averaging about 3:18 per km. Was feeling great and breathing easily. This continued for the next 3 reps then ran the last 4 with the two Mikes (including the last 2 with young Timmy) at about 3:42 pace.

Big confidence booster as it felt easy today. Bit of a worry about Kanser who disappeared off complaining about his hip.

Interesting email from the City to Surf organisers this evening telling the Seeded Runners who all the other seeded runners are. Guess it allows you to size up your opposition. If I can just beat one other person on the list (other than Andrew Lloyd) I'll be happy.

Bateman Keith, Warren Mark, Criniti David, Whitmore Luke, Lynch Barry, Farrugia Anthony, Highnam Tom, Elliott Jackson, Lloyd Andrew, Tuckey Andrew, Antonelli Jason, Meagher John, Kelly Steve, McFarlane Andrew, Shatrov Vlad, Nankervis Shane, Saunders Philo, Cox Matthew, St Lawrence Ben, Hunt Jeffrey, Williams Hugh, Johnson Michael, Dent Martin, Grattan Luke, Neill Robbie, O'brien Earl, Crasti Thomas, Ireland David, Symons Kale, Haber Anthony, Robertson Kevin, White Brad, Cochrane Tim, Low Charlie, Gultekin Riza, Cavanagh Stephen, Whiteley Robin, Didyk Adam, Craigie Alan, Keem Barry, Moseley Saxon, Clark Daniel, Moneghetti Steve, Taylor Luke, Morrison Tim, Welsh Richard, Page Grant, Hurt Simon, Mwangi Josphat, Serem Isaac, Hobbs Aidan, Cooray Thamal, Verwey Dane, Abercromby Mark, Webster Matt, Shelley Michael, Kay Richard, Summers Harry.

Good to see Rob Dog entered.

Very easy Monday

Just me, Dougall and chap whose name I forget from Freshwater today for a shortened Monday route. About 12.5km just short of an hour. Another beautiful day but a tad breezy.

Feeling better

Shortened Sunday run today - Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation, Shelley Beach, North Head, Queenscliff and home. 21km in 1:29:49. Felt great and a beautiful day. Sort of day when running is fun.

Hang my head in shame

Didn't want to race the Striders 10km this morning with only a week to go until C2S - memories of 2007 put me off. So decided on a fast 5km by myself instead. Wasn't up for it though, still had Thursday's booze in my legs. Did a 3km warm up then two laps of the Golf Course circuit in 17:18. First lap 8:33 where my heart sank, then gave up with a km to go to jog home in 8:45 for the second. Just felt dead. Not really much of a confidence booster for next week. Wish I'd done more tempo runs and hills.

HuRTS 4 x 2km

Really didn't want to do this today. Had an excuse list as long as my arm. Yesterday was a big day with core strength with Carl in the morning, a long run at lunch and a massage in the afternoon. I then didn't drink enough water to flush out all the toxins and so woke up very stiff and sore this morning. I was tired, both physically and mentally after the last 3 weeks. So toyed with the idea of a jog, but then told myself not to be such a soft bastard and just get out there.

So rocked up (late) to join MC, Tucks, Dom, Timmy C, Milli Vanilli, Ray, LF Charlie, RMR and others for the tough 4 x 2km session. We split into two groups and our group took the 2 minute rest off Dom's finishing time so I was getting about 2:30 rest. Reps went as follows:

6:25
6:21
6:25
6:20

So another good consistent session in the end - I think we must have had a favourable wind on the return reps. Had Tucks just behind on rep one, Ray pushed reps 2 and 3 and gave the others a start on rep 4 to give me something to chase. That makes it a hell of a lot easier than running at the front by yourself - the 4th rep felt best. Dom was running well so will be interesting to see what he does at C2S.

Pleased to have run those times on tired legs. Need to be careful though as the last time I ran this session tired (then went out for drinks) I caught the flu and was out for 4 weeks. I've got an End of Financial Year drinks function this evening...

Wednesday MLR

Usual Wednesday route with Andy, JB, MC, Dicky H, Aus, chick called Laura James (6th in Sutho to Surf at the weekend), RMR and a couple of others. Wet and cold. Easy on the way out. I ran a bit quicker up Heartbreak Hill to find everyone else had turned early. Caught them up then ran back with Andy and JB. Much quicker on the way back (85:05 in total after turning on 44:50) and was quite tired.

Had a Tiger massage this afternoon and have put some money on young Timmy to show him a clean pair of heels at Lane Cove on Saturday. Gary then tried to bet me I wouldn't beat Keith at C2S, but I was far too sensible to take that one. Young Keith just has too much form at the moment.

HuRTS Progressive tempo

It's a Tuesday, 12 days until City to Surf and it wasn't raining so, as expected, the crowd was big. Intention is to increase the pace every 10 minutes by dropping 10s per km pace. In practice, you start quite easy, pick it up a bit, turn on 23.5mins and then go hell for leather to get back.

We took it pretty easy on the way out - chatting with JF with Tucks, JB, Andy, Dicky H and quite a few others also running with us. Turned on 23.5mins having reached 6.05km (3:53 pace). JB immediately upped the pace (it's difficult not to when there's a big crowd in front) with just Tucks going with us. We seemed to be going very quickly - once again I was struggling to hold on going around Circular Quay (where Tucks must also have dropped a bit). However, travelling around Farm Cove JB seemed to ease off a bit so I took my turn in front. Pushed the hills on the way back with JB dropping off somewhere on the hill up to the ABC Pool. Finished in 43:36. Very quick for the second half - 6.05km in 20:06 (3:19 pace) which includes all the uphills. 9:50 for the final gate to gate. All up 12.1km at 3:36 pace. Felt strong in the legs but the pace was tough. Ideally would like to do a 400s session on Thursday rather than the planned 4 x 2km - just to get used to some quicker pace running.

Good to see Tucks getting back to form despite still only running low kms. Also just noticed that Muz posted a late comment last week - good to hear from you mate. Looking forward to hearing about plans for your return home...

Recovery Monday

Usual Monday route in 68:11. Big crowd today including Ray, Tucks, Dougall, Andy, Kanser, Dicky H, King James, Indrajeet and a first time appearance for Timmy Rowe. Pulled up pretty well after yesterday's long one.

Long solo Sunday

Dropped Billy off at a party in Brookvale and had 2.5 hours to kill so ran via Curl Curl to Queenscliff, did two loops of my 10km circuit then ran back the way I came. The two 10km loops were run in 43:20 and 42:20 and all up just short of 32km in 2:17:07 (4:20's). Felt much easier doing the long run today without having done a hard session the day before. Legs still buggered now though. Bumped into Dicky G and had a quick chat at about 25km but otherwise pretty uneventful.

Off the wagon

I was supposed to do a 15km tempo but a night in the 3 Wise Monkeys put paid to that. 8km Manly route in 32:30 instead and that was a struggle.

Easy Friday

12km running Monday route but cutting back at Circular Quay. Problem is I forgot to transfer the orthotics from my racing flats so had to run in my trainers with no heel raises, orthotics or inner sole. So my achilles got sore.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Despite MC trying to hijack the session with some poxy long jog, we had a good turnout of JB, Kanser, Andy, Ray, Clyde, JF, Brendan, Dougall, RMR, Dom etc for one of the original sessions. Some suggest this session isn't tough enough so I stressed to everyone beforehand that the floats are not jogs or recoveries and that the overall pace for the 20mins should be 10km pace, so the fast sections are 5km pace.

Then had to practice what I'd preached so set off hard with the intention of reaching the Stone Gates. JB and Ray went with me. We almost got into the virtuous circle of reaching the top of the hills on the floats. Ray dropped off at 7mins to run back with Kanser leaving me and JB to carry on. We reached the Stone Gates with 8secs to spare and set off back. I was just holding on to JB on the final two 60s sections but felt better on the 30s intervals. JB dropped off half way around Farm Cove and I ended up half way along the side of the Opera House.

Another good, hard session. I've only reached the Stone Gates when I've been really fit (June and September/October 2008) so it's a good sign. It was quite blustery out there today too. I think it works out as averaging 3:22's for the whole thing. 3km warm up and warm down for 12km all up. 220km for the past 2 weeks.

Wednesday MLR

Usual Wednesday route with Kanser, RMR, Rob and Simon. Very easy pace today. Legs were a bit sore - need a massage. 1:30:05.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Felt tired again starting this session so took it deliberately easy for the first 6 reps running with the group. Then started my reps behind them to give me something to chase. Felt better as the reps went through and really enjoyed the last 4. I'm a complete pussy when it comes to doing each one though - always take it easy for the first half, usually giving JB about 20m then pick it up over the second half when I realise there's not that much further to go. Was averaging about 900m for most reps (3:19's) and 935m for the final 4 (3:12's).

Another huge crowd out there. Kanser was giving young Timmy a fright shadowing him for all the reps. Poor Timmy was shattered after 12 and couldn't finish off the session. Doesn't bode well for him over the final 2km of C2S.

Easy Monday

Usual Monday route with MC, Dougall, King James, Rob, LF Charlie, Kanser, Dicky H, Gerry and others. Very easy today covering the 15.8km in 1:10:36 (4:28's). Quicker in the second half. Legs very tired though.

Balmain Bungle Star

31kms in 2:24 (about 4:39's).

Easy run today on a cold morning. Set off in the 6.20am group with Dennis, Flakey, Nick B, and a few others with Cam Arnold and Steve Hume joining us for various parts. Very easy pace for the first 12km (about 5:00 per km) then it picked up a bit running along the Cooks River. When we got to the end of the Coolrunning 5km course I decided to run that in reverse while the others took the slightly shorter route back. Did the final 5km in just under 20mins, bumping into Travis at the end. Tired now.

ANSW Short Course X-Country Championships

22nd in 26:22. But, 3rd in the 35-40 age group, so I got to stand on a podium and receive my first individual ANSW State Medal! Looking over the results, I finished in about the position I was expecting based on how I've been going recently.

Went off pretty quick and wasn't far off the leaders for the first lap as they were taking it very easy. It's the sort of course that creeps up on you though. Lots of little inclines and gradual rises in thick grass that saps the strength from your legs. Exactly what I was looking for today. I was trying to hang on to Greg Graves for the second lap and gradually reeled him in on the last finishing strongly. I ran 8:32 for the first lap, 9:01 for the second and 8:49 for the last.

Good to see Tucks out there again. I'll claim a scalp over him while I can even though he's recovering from injury. Nice also to catch up with Nick, Flakey and the Tiger who was watching. Smashed by Chadi who ran an impressive 25:01 in beating some very good runners.

It's a beautiful course and today was perfect weather, clear blue skies and cool. Will definitely be back.

Easy Friday

Very easy 12.5km run around Balls Head with MC and Dougall. 62 mins.

HuRTS Gate to Gates

8 of them off 2 mins rest. Actually, it was a rolling 5 minute start so I got a little over 2 mins rest. Reps went as follows:

2:51
2:47
2:45
2:47
2:46
2:46
2:43
2:46

Gate to gate is 909m so 2:46 works out at 3:02 per km. Good solid session. Always struggle a bit mentally with the speed sessions as they hurt from the word go, so good to get through it and keep them consistent. From rep 5 onwards I was hurting. There was always someone there to push them along though. Ray went hard on reps 3 and 4. The Judge showed up today and was on my shoulder for reps 3 to 5 and ran a 2:42 on rep 6 (his last). Brendan from work was doing each second rep hard before the Melbourne Half Marathon this weekend so pushed reps 5 and 7. Even young Timmy popped up on the final rep to give a good showing. JF was also just behind. Good to see Tucks, Kanser, Dicky H and Enda out there - almost felt like old times.

Have decided to run the ANSW Short Course X-Country this weekend which I'll do as a hard training run given how solid this week's training has been. Last minute decision based on how much better my achilles is feeling (feel confident enough to test it on soft, hilly terrain) and the fact that Sean is away for the Sat morning session. Will be nice to race at a sensible time of day for once as well.

Wednesday MLR

Usual Wednesday route with a big crowd including MC, Kanser, Dicky H, Tucks, JB, Andy, LF Charlie, RMR, King James, Russel and Benny St. By half way it was only me , Benny, Kanser, Russel and JB with the latter two pushing ahead. Kanser split at Darling Point so ran back with Benny. Will be great to see how he goes at C2S with Shelley, Dent and Hunt all running.

Felt very comfortable today - halfway in 44:40 and back for the 19km in 1:26:37.

Tiger massage this arvo and saw Carl this morning for a busy day. Collected my $100 from the Tiger. Hope he has enough in reserve to feed his kid who is looking like a Mark Schwarzer clone. Kanser has a new look of determination about him. Timmy L should start saving his pennies for another Highnam payday.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Huge crowd today including Dicky H, Kanser, Timmy's L and C, MC, JB LF Charlie etc. Set off quickly with JB and a chap from Brats called Andy McFarlane. Turns out he's a decent runner who ran 46:34 for C2S last year - exactly the same time I did the year before. We were pushing hard from the start and reached the Opera House stone gates in 9:55. Turned at 22.5mins past the second speed bumps opposite the stone building - the same as the furthest I've reached before. On the way back, particularly under the Harbour Bridge, I was just trying to hang on to JB and Andy, only really catching them during the floats as they extended on the fast sections. Then coming around Farm Cove I felt good again and kept it going strong back home. We pretty mcuch stayed together until the very final rep when I pushed on a bit.

Back in 45:15. 10:20 for the final stone gate to stone gate. John had it at 8.1miles odd (he's old skool) which I think is about 13.1km - i.e. averaging 3:27's all up including the floats.

Buggered at work this afternoon - slight stomach cramps so I obviously pushed it very hard, but that's the plan for the rest of July. C2S beckons.

Need sleep Monday

Up at 4am for the flight from Cairns and headed out at lunch for the usual 15.8km. Good crowd today joined variously by Timmy C, Kanser, Dicky H, Ryan C, JB, MC etc. Very easy to start with but Timmy picked the pace up on the way back and we finished in 66:30 (4:12's). We probably averaged under 4:00's in the second half so too quick for a recovery.

A few photos from the GC of Timmy, the Tiger and Andy attached...

Gold Coast 10km and FNQ Holiday

Got what I was looking for at the Gold Coast. Arrived in plenty of time and soaked up the atmosphere. Caught up with Dave Sweeney beforehand and had a quick chat and admired the likes of Shelley and Troop doing their warm ups. You get plenty of space as a preferred starter at Gold Coast - another part of their top organisation. We were held for a while which just heightened the nerves and then were off. As usual, the pace was frantic to start with. I tried to calm myself early on and saw Dave up ahead. Passed Dave just after the 1km marker and found myself in a group of about 6 who all seemed to be going the same pace. This was perfect. I caught splits of 6:24 at 2km, 9:40 at 3km and 13:01 at 4km so the pace was perfect. However, it seemed to be floating to the front of the group between 4 and 5km so the pace was obviously slowing a little but was too scared to take it on myself so just settled in. However, I turned the U-Bend at 4.8km badly and this was followed shortly after by a small hill where a group of 4 gapped me. I was then by myself but just concentrated on their backs to avoid the elastic snapping.

This being the Gold Coast, we then started to have a procession of talented younger runners who were being chewed up and spat out having gone off too quick in the first half. I passed one and we almost caught the group of 4 in front of us (within 5 yards) before they slowly drifted off again. I was just digging in now. 5km had passed in 16:25 and given the fast start I knew a sub-33 was unlikely but concentrated on maintaining the pace to make sure I was under 33:30 - my original aim. From 8km onwards I was passing quite a few and starting to gain on the group of 4 again. 9km in 30:02 and I knew the sub 33:30 was in the bag so just put my head down. The final straight before you turn into the finishing chute seemed to go on forever. Finished up in 33:21 (33:19 net). My 7th fastest 10km so I'm getting back on track.

Caught up with Dave and the legendary Ronnie Peters (not just for his running performances for his age, but his honest coolrunning comments too) afterwards. Dave seemed a bit disappointed with his 34:32 but to run that time so soon after injury was very impressive - I didn't think he'd get under 35. Shows what natural talent he has.

Was planning on running the Half the next day but woke up too sore and decided it wouldn't do me much good for the rest of the season. All eyes are on C2S now. Some great performances though, in particular JB who ran a fantastic 1:11:49. Gary owes me some cash but still put in a credible 1:16:04 (gun, we only count gun, so that will be $100). Timmy had a gutsy run in the marathon off the limited training he's done to run 2:50, although he did manage to let a grey haired chap pip him on the line. I've got a couple of photos that I'll post this evening.

Took Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off while travelling North and was itching to get out by Wednesday. Did 10km each day (Wed - Sat) in Port Douglas in 39:52, 41:07, 38:24 and 42:58. It's dead flat and you you can't help but run quickly in the warmth. Then did 24km yesterday in 1:46:02.

Another easy 10km

Itching to get out there now. Another very easy 10km today around the Botanical Gardens on a beautifully clear but cold day. Threw in five 30s sprints here and there. 44:50.

Welcome break

Been working my arse off on a deal which will be done tomorrow, haven't been to bed before 1.30am in a week and today was another manic one. Popped out for a very easy 10km up to Centennial and back this evening. Cold again but perfect for running and feeling good despite the workload.

HuRTS 5min reps

Bloody cold today, coldest night in Sydney for 15 years. I had two vests, a T-Shirt and a cap on for this session and was still shivering. Wanted to push it a bit today as I've been cruising since Mini-Mos and was worried the legs may be going a bit soft before this weekend. Crowd included JB, JF and Clyde upfront with Timmy C, Andy, Kanser, MC, LF Charlie, Chris G and even Canadian Chris making a surprise return.

Reps went as follows:

1.44km - 3:29/km
1.45km - 3:28/km
1.50km - 3:21/km
1.52km - 3:19/km
1.51km - 3:20/km
1.52km - 3:18/km

Then the last two we decided to cruise in about 3:50 pace. Those were JB's times, I was no more than a couple of yards ahead, if at all. Felt OK to finish off the last two reps but decided not to kill ourselves before the weekend. They felt quick though - makes a massive difference having JF, Clyde and particularly JB pushing them along with you. Just need to stay illness free before Saturday now, not easy when you have a house full of sick kids.

Not so long Sunday

Ran from home to MC's to pick up the Porsche, having driven over Durante's 30th World Cup themed party last night. Timmy went long on Italy but came up short. Kanser won $115 for flukeing a "guess the time of the first goal" comp, but it paid for my taxi home so I wasn't too displeased. The bets that I can remember are:

1. $50 on Kanser beating Timmy in a race prior to the HuRTS end of season drinks night.
2. $50 on Timmy not getting under 4 hours at next years Six Foot Track.

I also bet Timmy I could do more keepy-ups than he could, after he went into a 45minute monologue on how he was an apprentice at Stoke City and could have been a contender. But he didn't seem keen on taking me up on it.

Anyway, todays run was very steady but wasn't really in the mood. 1:35:09 all up. 27:02 at Spit Junction, 58:26 at work. About 21.5km.

Auf wiedersehen Deutschland!

12km easy run around the City during a break from work this arvo. About 55mins.

Arrivederci Italia!

Run to work this morning. Hammies are still tight but the leg cadence was high and felt pretty strong which was backed up by the time - 26:45 at Spit Junction and 56:46 all up. Feeling good about Gold Coast 10km but would ideally liked to have done some more speed sessions like the 400s.

Ingerland!

Jogged to Cremorne. Bought some beer. Got taxi home. 30 mins.

Long Wednesday

Just me and JB today (all the others arsing around with Corporate Cup) so we headed out to do the old Centennial route. Quicker pace than usual being just the two of us (albeit starting very easily) but felt good throughout and still with a bit in the legs at the end. 18.7km in 1:23:29 (4:27's). Belted down with rain and cold. Took Volataren for the achilles last night so that I could hammer the eccentric loading with heavier weights and it felt great, as it always does with the wonder drug.

Hurts Progressive tempo

Very tired after the last two days and achilles has been swelling up a bit so took today easy. Went gently for the first half averaging just over 4:00 per km reaching just past the Sydney Theatre Company cafe on 23.5mins then picked it up quite a lot coming back getting home in 44:24. JB was going hard at the front and good to see Andy Heyden back out again.

Long Monday

Did 10km before the usual Monday run today as a result of missing a long run over the weekend. Was expecting to feel very tired as the legs were fatigued this morning but felt surprisingly good, especially over the final 5km when we picked the pace up. Averaged 4:20's for the Monday run part. Big group today including Clyde, LFC, Springer(!), King James, Indrajeet, Russell, Andy and JB. Passed Tucks a couple of times while running and the Burglar and IHS.

All up about 25.5km in 1:49:56.

Mini-Mos Marathon - 7th in 34:53

Got the time I wanted it's a bloody hard race. There are short sharp hills throughout but they leave the best until the final 1.5km.

Turned up to see Marty Dent, Harry Summers, Jason Harrison, Vlad and Thamal on the start line so they had sorted out the money prizes between them leaving me out yet again. What I hadn't counted on was how strong the first female (Emily Brichacek) would be. Set off feeling great. First km in 3:14, 2km reached in 6:30 running with Emily at this stage. She gapped me around 3km after the steep hill up to Middle Head Road and maintained the same gap for the rest of the race. 5km in 17:04 feeling as though the hills were punishing me. I definitely prefer the flat. Ignored the km markers from then on just trying to concentrate on catching Emily. Did catch 9km in 31:24 trying to work out how fast I'd have to run the final km to get under 35. The final 1.5km are a killer. A solid 700m of uphill until you crest the top of the Allan Border Oval. Nice finish with a good finishing chute and crowd.

Good chat with Thamal, Vlad, Flakey and others afterwards. It's a really great event. Bec and Billy went well in the 2km and had a fantastic time. Bec was 12th in her age group in 8:45 and Billy 14th in his in 9:10.

Easy Sat

Just an easy 9km today doing 2.5km loops as a warm up before tomorrow's race in the Mini-Mos. Still felt tired in the legs for the first 15 minutes but eased up after that. Not sure whether I've overdone it this week before tomorrow's race. I reckon Mini-Mos is about 90 seconds slower than Gold Coast so if I get under 35mins I'll be going very well. I ran 34:37 two years ago when I was in peak form.

Took Billy and Bec (also both running tomorrow) out to the bike loop for some laps. Bec got down to 44.36 and Billy 44.26 so they then raced together where Billy won with a finishing dip (43.25). I reckon Bec will last 2kms better tomorrow though.