Varying the run home

Ran home late after work but decided to attack all the hills to try and get the heart rate up. Realised when I was doing this that I just don't get my heart rate up often enough with all this longer distance easy running I've been doing. Bloody hard work. I think it's time I concentrated on more aerobic work.

29:21 at Toyota Garage and 55:32 all up. Quicker as a result of the faster hills and there are plenty of them. Got a good shout from Clive Cooper driving by along Sydney Rd towards the end.

Feel good Sunday

Nippers Carnival up at Narrabeen all morning (where the kids excelled in mediocrity) so headed out late this afternoon for the usual route to Shelley Beach with Billy and Charlie on their bikes. Charlie has just upgraded to a bigger bike and is much faster as a result. I was feeling great so we bounced along at 4min kms the whole way. 11.5km in 46:00. Said hello to Mike Baird at Queenscliff. Good confidence booster after yesterday's long one.

Long Saturday

Out at 6am with Macca and Big Sam for the usual Narrabeen route but completing the lap of the lake. Great morning, time passed quickly with plenty of chat, at least until 26km when Sam remarked on how good he was feeling when suddenly the pace increased and the talk decreased. We ran the next 7km pretty quick averaging sub4's.

All up 35.7km in 2:39 something (about 4:28's). Felt stronger today so maybe it's starting to come together.

It was close, but I made it through

Sunday tipped me over the edge. I picked up a case of Endaitis* on Sunday and by Monday was struggling big time. Went through 1.5 toilet rolls in my office in blowing my nose. It was effective at keeping people from bothering me but resulted in me having to suffer alone. Tuesday was even worse, Wednesday was slightly better (probably equivalent to a normal person's pneumonia) but Thursday was markedly better. Ventured out for an easy 10km along the flat route from work in 42:13.

Today I joined the depleted Friday squad (MC is ignoring all HuRT Squad etiquette in advertising a Friday swim squad, in between trying to make a buck in selling some dodgy musical theatre tickets) for the normal Monday route. The two JB's, King James, the Kilted Scot, Russell and Clyde were there along with others. Turned over 13.27km in 59:13 (4:27's). Felt great running it, the three days rest doing wonders for the legs but feel very tired and depleted now, probably with some lingering remnants of the virus at play. I've got 36km planned with Big Sam and Macca in the morning so I'm hoping it's gone by then. The tiredness may have something to do with joining in with Laser Zone at Billy's party along eight other 9 year olds this afternoon. I kicked their ass. You were given a great printout after the game showing loads of statistics (number of kills, % hit rate, number of times you were killed etc.) which I thought of photocopying for the blog but in the end my modesty determined it wouldn't be appropriate.

72km for the week.




*A particularly virulent strain of manflu, brought on by overtraining, drinking to excess and constant texting from Young Timmy.

Long Sunday getting faster

Trotted down to the ABC Pool after waiting a few minutes for Kanser and immediately felt good today. Caught up with Big Sam and, with Kanser nowhere to be seen, we headed off. Probably a good job he didn't join us today as I think the pace may have been a little too hot for him.

We took it easy for the first 12kms up to Narrabeen then, after stopping for our usual first water and Gu, Big Sam decided to put the foot down. I think he was running angry after yesterday's performance and I felt similar. Anyway, from then on it was a good pace all the way home feeling great, even pushing the Griffin St hill. Glorious morning made for a great run. The splits tell the story:

5:11, 4:28, 4:43, 4:28, 4:24, 4:24, 4:12, 4:15, 4:20, 4:03, 4:14, 4:13, 3:57, 4:00, 4:07, 4:00, 4:14, 4:01, 4:03, 4:08, 4:02, 3:56, 3:53, 3:51, 4:00, 4:02, 3:52, 4:15, 5:16, 4:00, 4:15.

All up 31.02km in 2:11:05 (4:13's). Somewhere in all that Sam probably ran a 10km faster than he did at Homebush yesterday.

I then did 4.54km with the elder kids down to Queenscliff in 25:10 (5:33's).

Striders 10km Homebush - 11th in 34:32

Well, not the start to the season I was hoping for but it's under the belt.

Caught a lift with Ben and Big Sam and arrived with plenty of time for some run throughs to get the heart rate up. Big crowd at the start with some very good runners fronting up - Tom do Canto, Uncle Dave, CT, Farrugia, the Horne, Tucks etc. I lined up in the second row (behind Timmy, I think he was racing EJ to the first corner - and lost) and set off pretty hard (at least I thought it was). However, before 1km was reached the front group of 6 had already gapped Tucks and I by about 20m. At the top of the hills on to the footpath and crowd behind of Tongey, Bleasel, Dean Degan, Brendan Davies and an Asian chap I didn't recognise had caught Tucks and I. I struggled around the very wet horsetrack and was gapped by Tucks and the Asian chap. At 5km (16:52) they had about 20m on me. The time at 5km depressed me a bit and I immediately lost concentration and started to drift. Bleasel then came past followed by Tongey and I was running with Dean and Brendan. It stayed that way until the end, with me pulling ahead of them in the final km.

Legs felt heavy the whole way. I thought I was turning them over OK but apparently not. Pretty ugly negative split. But it's in the bag and the training continues. The body feels great with no niggles.

Cooled down with Tucks, Timmy, Kanser, and Big Sam. We all struggled today. My head to heads looks a bit lop-sided but at least I got Timmy on the handicap system.

Couple of photos:

50m to the finish...



Me gurning, Tucks, Kanser looking fucked, Young Timmy and Big Sam...

Friday fitting it in

Ran 5.9km to Lime St for a massage with the Tiger then ran 3.7km back. 4:07 pace there, 5:07 pace back. Bumped into Fast Charlie and Warwick on the way back so ran with them.

Tiger diagnosed my knee issue then set to work on it and it turned out a treat.

Just back from a 4 hour boozy client lunch which isn't ideal prep for tomorrow but I'll try my best.

105km for the week.

Not Hickson Road HuRTS

Had a few too many Coopers Pale Ale after the swim carnival last night and only a few hours sleep so it was a very easy session today. Jogged down late to Hickson Road and met the squad coming back on their second rep. Joined in with the second group for reps 3, 4 and 5 doing 3:39's, 3:32's and 3:25's (per km, not total time) feeling OK. Then jogged back with Tucks, MC, Todd and Big Sam. All up 10.27km in 43:50 (4:16's).

Wednesday MLR

Just MC and King James today with James peeling off at Fox Studios on the 2nd lap. Very easy chatting all the way. Took the concrete path around Centennial due to the rain so a bit longer. 18.69km in 1:27:02 (4:39's).

Excitement is mounting in the office for the annual swim carnival this evening. Here are a couple of photos showing the glorious AAR banking team and their captain..

HuRTS Tempo

Lower crowd than usual with Kanser leading a small band of breakaways at Rushcutters. Had a quick chat to LF Charlie, Tucks, Bartles and Durante before the start, with each of them admiring my spray-on tan, and then we were off. Tucks was heading the front group which included Scooty O, Bartles, Jase and Macca. Just as he was pushing us all into discomfort, he pulled up under the Harbour Bridge complaining of a bad stitch. I think this injury is related to the "tweaked heartstring" which MC and Young Timmy are often prone to.

We turned at 6.27km and Scotty started to push the pace. We then swapped pacing duties all the way back with Bartles perennially on the shoulder. Scotty pushed ahead in a final run in at the Art Gallery and I finished back in 44:44 with Bartles, running strongly today, a stride or two behind.

Garmin said 12.55km at 3:33 pace but I was wearing the 405 today, not the 610, and the 405 measures short under Circular Quay for some reason. G-Maps suggests 12.4km so about 3:36 pace all up. Pretty pleased with that in the humid conditions.

Needless to say I sweated so much my spray-on tan ended up on my cotton singlet.

Monday meander

Finally got some work to do which meant I missed the start time for the HuRTS Monday jog so caught up with them at the Opera House. Result was a very easy 13.3km in 59 odd minutes at about 4:27's. Finished up with Tim Cradock (who's getting back into shape), MC, Mark M and Russell. This Monday session seems to attract loads to start with but very few do the whole thing. Hot today. Sydney finally breached the 30C barrier.

Body feeling very good though with the knee much better and both achilles the best they've felt since September.

Our place on Berry Mt over the long weekend was great, the only downside being the grounds which were full of leeches. We were examining one fat one on the doorstep on Saturday afternoon which Charlie splatted with one of Bec's Haivanas and which released a load of blood (only then to crawl off - we got it with vinegar later). I took my shoes off a few minutes later and realised it must have just fallen off my ankle - this was the state of my sock..

Long run around the Valley

Went a bit shorter today but found a 24km loop along Kangaroo Valley Road, then Tourist Rd, up to the Camberrawa Lookout then down Moss Vale Road to Kangaroo Valley and finishing with a gruelling 6km climb back up Berry Mountain to our house. Took it easy on a beautiful day and took some photos along the way. Struggled on the final climb after 20km where thoughts turned to Six Foot reminding me just how hard it is. Finished up with a 4.5km jog with Bec for 28.8km all up. Slow at an average of 4:44 pace but plenty of hills.

Here are the photos:

Looking back down to Kangaroo Valley from Tourist Road:



Camberrawa Lookout:



Climbing out of the morning mist up Berry Mountain towards the end:

Up and down

11.1km from the house near the top of Berry Mountain on a route along Tourist Rd trying to plan tomorrow's longer run. Not a flat section on the whole route but felt great today. 46:something but it was 4:14's after the first 2km (all up) in 10:00 and the final 2km (all down) in 7:00. Feel as though I'm recovering well at the mo following each easy day. Having said that, I'll go shorter tomorrow after two very long Sunday runs in the past fortnight.

Kangaroo Valley

12km from the village and then up Upper Kangaroo River Road easy in 52:08 (4:20's). Right knee still sore after trying the ski exercises last night (the ones I used for Runner's knee). Didn't work, just made things more sore. Aggravated my adductor which I think is the root of the problem.

Saw some Kangaroos in the village at the end. Never seen Kangaroos in Kangaroo Valley before. I thought the name was a joke.

127km for week.

HuRT Squad come to Manly

Australia Day today so Kanser, J-Fen, Bartles, Timmy, Big Sam and Macca all came over to my place for a 16.5km tempo at 3:45 pace. It was wet but warm and pretty humid - so much so that I had sweat dripping off my face from 2km in. Went through the first km in 3:41ish but my Garmin was throwing out random figures so I was running blind and relying on the others. All stayed as a group for the first few km before Big Sam and Timmy dropped off the back running together.

Pace was slightly uncomfortable the whole way. If you ever felt comfortable, you knew the pace had dropped to 3:48 or thereabouts. After the turn at Shelley Beach J-Fen picked the pace up and we pretty much ran 3:40's all the way back. Kanser dropped off at 11kmish and must have been dehydrated as he started to feel sick. Coming back towards Campbell Parade I suddenly started feeling pretty good so took a turn at the front pushing the pace. With a couple of km to go it was just J-Fen and myself and we ran back together to the finish. All up 16.4km in 1:01:06 (3:43's).

Now off to Berry Mountain.

MLR Wednesday

Usual Wednesday run in the rain (albeit warm and muggy) with MC, Todd and King James and with The Kilted Scot and The Unkilted Yorkshireman peeling off after one lap of Centennial. Very easy pace. Slightly worried about right knee.

18.55km in 1:27:29 (4:42's).

Phish Food, Chocolate Fudge Brownie or Triple Caramel Chunk? Tonight's dilemma.

HuRTS 4 x 10mins

Crowd was bigger than Ben Hur today. We may need to make arrangements to split the group soon as it's starting to become a bit unwieldy.

This is a tough session. Tried just to hang on to the back of the front group today but they were going at a pace and that was tough enough. J-Fen and Scotty O were leading the charge with Tucks, Bartles and I trying to keep up. We failed, reaching the gates in 10:03 with J-Fen and Scotty about 15 seconds in front. The next rep they just stepped up the pace again while I flailed around in the background, at least running consistent pace. The third rep was weird as I felt good and drifted to the front so tried to keep the pace honest and get to the gates in under 10mins. Just managed it with Scotty and J-Fen hanging on. Final rep I was spent so just tried to keep the same pace. Times for the Gate to Gates were as follows:

10:03
9:46
9:53
9:51

That's not bad but I was way behind Jonathan and Scott who ran it as fast as I think anyone has.

Had a massage this arvo at Jackie's with Amanda, who I reckon is the best one there. She's the female version of Jean-Louis (although more attractive) and did a great job.

Monday meander

Out with the squad at lunch for the usual Monday route. Had a chat with LF Charlie (moving to Clontarf, we have another local!), LJ, MC, Craig, Jonathan W and Luke. Then picked up the pace a bit running back with a chap called James. All up 15.66km in 1:09:52 (4:27's). Felt great today, complete reverse of last Monday so must have recovered better from the long run.

Big weekend for Maggie. Saturday she started swimming for the first time with any floaties (I can sense Timmy pencilling the gags already) and yesterday I taught her how to ride a bike without stabilisers. She then went on to ride for 3.5km. I gave up chasing her around Campbell Parade so just decided to take a video from the in-field.

Maggie riding

Right knee feels a bit sore, like it's bruised under the kneecap, so need to keep an eye on that.

Another long 'un

Up at 5.30am again to meet Big Sam and Richard Banks for a run up the beaches. Richard joined us because he's just been asked by the Japanese to run some marathon in a town south of Fukuoka which is twinned with Townsville - off the back of having won the Townsville marathon last year. He's only been given 3 weeks notice so is putting in some quick prep.

Coolish again (at least it was at 5.30am) but the km's flew by chatting away. Felt much easier for the first 20km than last week having taken it easier yesterday. We looped around the Narrabeen Track and got very excited about a new gate they've opened accessing Cromer Golf Course allowing you to circumnavigate Narrabeen lagoon without the risk of cutting your nads off while trying to jump the sharp fence. Rather than complete the circuit though we ran back to Dee Why making the run only 31.08km in 2:20 something (about 4:30's). I then did an extra 4.5km with the kids to Nippers so we'll call it 35km all up.

Felt tired from 20km onwards which was a bit disappointing given how good I'd felt up until then.

Not a tempo

Woke up with a hangover after going to a party last night so decided against a long tempo run, thinking I'd just screw my body. Did an easy 10.3km instead with Charlie, who is getting quicker, on his bike. Awesome quote from Charlie this morning; "When I grow up I want to have big ears like you, Dad.".

10.3km in 46:29 (4:29's). Felt pretty good. Ran past Thamal who was running with Flynn on his bike. I'm starting a trend.

Run to work

Hauled my ass into work this morning in what I think is a PW time - 61:09. Didn't care. Enjoyed the plod.

120km for the week with some decent quality work.

HuRTS 8 x 800m

Over to Rushcutters on another warm day with a smaller, but hardcore, group in attendance. Still decent sized mind. Aparna who works for me (and an ex-Sydney Uni runner) was making her debut. With news that J-Fen is leaving KPMG and Andrea Ilakovac having gone, I'm planting some seeds for success in this year's JPMorgan team.

I was tired but just wanted to get through the session solidly. Tucks and Scotty O were taking the front running. I'm lacking confidence to attack these VO2 Max sessions so was sitting behind Kanser and Bartles on the first lap of each rep before trying to go harder on the second lap and close the gap on the front 2. The reps settled down into going through the first 400m in 73/74 with the second 400m being a bit quicker. Times were:

2:31
2:28
2:27
2:27
2:26
2:26
2:27
2:24

All done with a 100s rest in between.

11km all up.

Wednesday MLR

Massage with the Tiger this am then out with a decent sized group of LC, Big Sam, Jonathan W, Laura, King James, Todd, Russell and a few others for the usual double Centennial Wednesday route. Sunny and warm today. Sweated buckets out there but a very easy pace so not too tough on the fragile body.

All up 18.35km in 1:26:13 (4:42's).

But, big news of the day and one which all loyal readers will be very excited about is the announcement of a new blog! It promises to be more interesting than Kanser's, more frequent than Enda's, less French than Jamie's and have fewer spelling mistakes than Timmy's. It is Fats' Blog. Better still, he's agreed to run under the HuRT Squad team for Six Foot, so we have a chance of beating Gramps' Army this year.

Finally, here is quote from an article announcing the probables for the Kenyan Olympic marathon squad:

“Arriving at the names was not easy since 150 men and 50 women made the A-Standard qualifications," AK chief and IAAF Council Member Isaiah Kiplagat told a packed press conference. "Selectors looked at consistency, the ability to win without pace making, discipline and commitment to represent the country when deciding the names.”

150!!

HuRTS 8 x 5mins

The whole of Sydney turned out for the session today. Everyone was there (other than Enda, whom I'm assuming Kanser has chained to the desk) - even Durante, again. MC's getting scared of the chap's latent talent already. It was pretty chaotic but we managed to get through the session.

I was still tired and sore before we started. Told myself it was one of those sessions you just had to get through. Ran most of the reps with Tucks, Andy and Macca. Fats and Timmy joined us for the first few. They felt a bit easier as we rolled through them and the muscles warmed up a bit. All run at 3:25 to 3:30 pace other than the final one at 3:16 pace.

14km all up and 17 days in a row. I've mentioned Thurston's theory on 17 consecutive days previously (although he probably made it up when pissed). It sounds easy but is surprisingly difficult to achieve, at least for me. Something, be it work, hangover, home commitments, injury or sickness, always seems to get in the way. I only managed it twice all of last year, including in January when I ran every day - like I hope to this month.

Super sore

Walking like John Wayne this morning so headed out for a short one just to ease the body. MC, Tucks, Jonathan W, TB, Craig, Kanser and others all in attendance. Even bumped into the Lovely Lisa making a welcome return to training around Farm Cove. Very easy pace and body felt slightly better for it afterwards, particularly after a good stretch. 11.42km in 52:17 (4:35's).

Got the splits from Saturday's race..

Super long

Up at 5.30am (yikes) for a long run with Big Sam. We did our pre-Gold Coast route up to Narrabeen Caravan Park and around the Lake coming back via Dee Why front and the beaches. The first few km was one foot in front of the other stuff in 4:48's wondering how I was going to get through this. Then we hit our stride between 10km and 20km on the new path around the Lake and struggled home from Dee Why. Sam has bags of stamina. Despite very little training he still manages to keep the pace honest past 30km. All up 35.82km in 2:41:51 (4:31's).

I then had 30 mins rest (and a bath) before heading out with the kids for their run. We ran Queenscliff to Shelley and back (5km) in 26:12 (5:15's). I was struggling to hang on to them in the final km.

Now farked.

State 5000m

Didnt know what to expect today. Only had 3 weeks of proper training but had been pretty pleased with the way things were going. Decided that anything sub 16:10 would be OK but with a stretch aim of going sub16. I was a nightmare to be with all day so have to thanks Kirst for her patience. Drove all the kids out to watch and form a great cheer squad.

Did about 5kms warm up with Macca while watching the earlier races and getting even more apprehensive. When the leaders in Race D go through the first km in 3:11 you get scared about what Race B is going to be like. Lined up on the outside and we were off in very good conditions - about 22C, slight drizzle and no wind. Everyone dawdled through the first 200m in 38s so I look the lead, much to my kids delight who went nuts on the sidelines. First km in about 3:09, after an injection of pace from someone at 800m which left me in 5th place. Don't know what 2km was in but someone seemed to be shouting lap times of about 75 or 76 each lap which sounded good. 3km was reached in 9:28 and at this stage I'm just staring at the back of the chap in front (Chamkaur), hoping for the laps to pass without the wheels falling off. A couple of others had gone past, Chamkaur slows a bit so I try to put a real effort in over the final 2 laps. Finish down the home straight with the legs going lactic which is always a good sign.

Chuffed to bits to get under 16 and run 15:52 at this stage of training. Macca also seemed to enjoy his first ever track race running a 16:51 but without the benefit of someone to draught behind. Watched most of the girls race (where Emily Brichacek was mightily impressive) cheering Laura on who ran a great 17:55.

Results here:

http://www.nswathletics.info/liveresults/2012/ANSW_5000m_12/

Chadi ran a superb 15:03 in the A race. Looks like CT must have blown up trying to stick to the big guns as he came in in 15:50 despite his training suggesting he was capable of something close to Chadi. It still gets him one up on the head to heads.

Easy Friday

MC controversially used the HuRTS Distribution list to advertise some pathetic frolic in the pool today, so it was a hardcore who turned out for the Friday easy run. Big Sam, Rob, Mat K, Luke, Simon, King James, Indrajeet and others. We went very easily oevr the bridge and around Cremorne Point. A very tanned looking Charlie D caught us coming off the bridge on the return and started gnashing his teeth at the mention of Timmy. Seems Young Tim may have pushed the teasing a little too far recently.

All up 13.53km in 1:09:27 (5:08's). Now just to kill myself on the track tomorrow night.

104km for the week. First 100+km week since mid-October. Even that one was a one-off. Last time I did them consistently was August.

HuRTs 4 x 2km

Big crowd on a beautiful day. Bit of a headwind on reps 1 and 3 which I shared with the front guys (Fast Charlie, Scotty O and Andy). Hell, even Timmy gave it a pop today. Although pop he went at the halfway mark on each rep. J-Fen was taking it easy and Tucks and Kanser were nowhere to be seen. Nice to Fats making a welcome return.

Reps went:

6:43
6:30
6:32
6:27

First one didn't feel any easier than the rest despite the time difference. I was struggling to hold on to Fast Charlie and Scotty O today, and Andy put in a really good effort on the final rep.

Reps were run off a rolling 9 minutes.

Just checked and it's a year (Jan 27 2011) since I last did this session. I must pussy out of Thursday sessions frequently. Back then I ran:

6:32
6:36
6:25
6:31

(2 seconds per rep quicker) so not too bad.

Christ, forgot to mention that partner in crime Durante fronted up today for the first proper session in, probably 3 years. He may have been struggling to keep up with MC but it didn't stop him having a pop about my slappy feet...

Health check and easy run

Had my annual health check today. Weight 68.3kg (up 1.7kg from last year and 4kg from 2007 and 2008!). I'm hoping it's all muscle. Resting heart rate 42. BMI 20.6. Blood pressure 118/60. Good cholesterol of 1.7 and bad of 2.6 (good result says the doc). Adjusted age of 27 which sounds nice. Having said that, at 27 I was about 78kg, binge drinking every night and eating 4 doughnuts a day.

Ran home feeling very energy depleted as I'd had to fast most of the morning and hadn't eaten enough afterwards. 57:48 despite a cool following wind seemingly the whole way.

I've entered the State 5000m. The family are making a rare outing to come and watch. This normally guarantees me a bad run.

HuRTS Tempo

Told MC the Progressive Tempo should be replaced with a straight tempo which he agreed to so today was the first chance to test it. 45 mins turning at 22.5mins. Marathon pace (or "15s per km slower than 10km pace" as MC put it, which sounds faster than marathon pace to me). Set off in the front group of Fast Charlie, J-Fen, Kanser, Scott O'C and, wait for it, Big Mikey H. We all stuck together until the turn when Big Mikey H carried straight on. Paul Macca and Andy were on their own behind the front group so we concentrated on catching them which happened around Circular Quay. Fast Charlie pulled ahead around the back of the Open Air Cinema and J-Fen went past me just before Mrs Mac's Chair as I started to tire. Felt pretty good on the hills on the way back though and finished about 5 seconds behind FC and J-Fen, just in front of Scott and Kanser.

Nice to be back in the mix again and it's a good session. Because it's a straight tempo people seem to judge their pace better so we finished more "en masse" than on other sessions. My Garmin measured it 12.2km and, finishing in 44:35, gives an average pace of 3:39's. GMaps measures it at 12.14km which gives an average of 3:40's, so close enough.

Poor Timmy finished up a little bit delirious and could barely string a sentence together. We left him dazed and confused standing in the middle of Art Gallery Road so I hope the old fella's OK.

I've decided that the best way to get fit is to race myself fit so I'm considering doing the State 5000m on Saturday night. Just got to get permission from Mrs H. It'll be a bit ugly but I criticise others for not putting themselves out there when not on top form so I should practice what I preach.

Booked accommodation for the Six Foot Track. Managed to get a property which is situated on the track itself so I should get a big cheer from the family running through Megalong Valley. Check it out here.

Back to work

Heavy Lasagne at a work lunch so ran it off on the way home. Felt rough until the end of the Harbour Bridge then got into a stride and enjoyed the rest of the run. Worked the hills. Achilles feeling very good. 29:53 at Toyota Garage and 56:00 all up.

Recovery run

4.5km run with Bec & Billy to Nippers (does it count if done at 5.30 pace?) then 11km in the afternoon with Billy & Charlie on their bikes (not much quicker at 4.45 pace). Knackered today.

Bush Run Part 3

Out at 6.30am with Dickyboy and Justin. Route was similar to Tuesday but with more bush running, both in Manly Dam and Red Hill. I was knackered today, feeling the effects of yesterday. Struggled through the first few km. Felt OK'ish from about 7km to 20km then really struggled home with the last 4km being run from one bubbler to the next in the warm conditions. All up 28.4km in 2:17:48 (4:51's).

More tempo

16.56km tempo in 61:55 (3:44's). Through 10k in 37:18 and 16km in 59:45. Felt comfortable at times and a struggle at others. Much cooler than yesterday and quite blustery - was tough running down Manly beach into the Southerly but a breeze on the return. Achilles feeling better and better so I'm feeling more confident about things.

93km for week

Nadgerooed

Caught the bus with the family to Spit Bridge then walked back home on the Spit to Manly. Took 5 hours including breaks, I had Claude in a backpack the whole way. Achilles was a bit sore after from all the climbing with 15kg on my back. Frustrating as it's been feeling great recently - maybe because I'm not sat in a chair all day long.

Knackered afterwards but jumped in the pool then ran an easy 10km in 42:18.

Received an email from Richie High today from Cambodia. He's set up a blog detailing his adventures with the family over the next 3 months which is here.

Recovery run

Kirst was out with the girls, I needed to do a recovery run so took Billy and Charlie out on their bikes for as long as Charlie could survive. It was 31C and humid today so nothing quick was going to be on the cards in any case. Ran the usual 7km route to Shelley Beach which we reached in 33:30. Charlie seemed happy to continue on so we retraced our steps. All up 14.4km (I had to double back a few times to deal with mechanical issues and ended with a loop of the playpark) in 1:08:04 (4:44's). Perfect recovery run and very proud of Charlie. He only learned to ride a bike in September and now he's doing 14km in just over an hour.

Bush run Part 2

Met Dickyboy at 6.30am for another bush run. He gave me 3 fairly unattractive options, so I plumped for the one where the bush was closest to home just in case I got bitten by a snake or just collapsed with exhaustion. That was Manly Dam, Red Hill and out at Cromer and returning home via Dee Why. We seemed to keep the pace pretty honest in the bush and then were running 4:10's and below back on the road. As a result, I as pretty shattered by the end. But it's another under the belt. All up 27km in 2:05:28 (4:38's).

Character building

Kirst gave me 45mins at 1.30pm. It was hot and windy, but I wanted to add a bit of quality. After 200m of a 12km tempo, I was ready to ditch the quality. But stuck at it, telling myself I'd would be rewarded at some point. Ended up doing the 11.8km in 44:25 (3:46's). Every km between 3:45 and 3:50 with a couple of quicker ones towards the end when I finally felt as though I was using my glutes and not just quickly shuffling.

New Year's Day

Normal 14km route with Billy and Bec on their bikes. Reached the turn in 29:12 but felt great on the return so picked the pace up a bit. All up 56:27 (4:02's). Massive crowds in Manly, particularly on the path to Shelley, so there was a bit of tourist dodging. Bec took one out herself and had a stack.

2011 in Review

I started the year with a perfect January - ran every day of the month (first time ever) and put in a good base. First race of the year was a disappointing result in the "Sun Run" and probably won't bother with that race again. I don't normally moan about race fees but $50 for a 7km on roads I train on every day was a bit steep. In any case, I'm planning on taking the Striders 10km series more seriously next year given the attention Macca, Ben, CT and others are paying to it.

March was a PB in the Six Foot Track (I take any PB I can these days) and more good groundwork. April was my first 10km with a disappointing run at Lane Cove. In retrospect I think I was adapting to the heavier workload but I should also have been racing more. Then it was the Novice 10km where things started to improve a bit. I'll do more X-Country next year due to my ANSW duties. Then in May the 10kms started to come together with a 33:29 at Homebush (course record for me) and a 33:26 at North Head, shortly before the State 10km where I finally got under 33 mins for only the second time in a tough race. Had a good SMH Half in between running in a great pack all of the way.

Then it was a bit of a purple patch with the marathon, City to Surf and North Head 10km. That was followed by sickness and injury and a disappointing end to the season with 5 weeks of virtually nothing recovering from the achilles. But in summary:

Top 3 races:

1. North Head 10km. First win and a PB to boot over the distance I race most regularly.
2. Gold Coast Marathon. Solid first effort on a day when lots of others struggled, but there's more ground to be made.
3. SMH Half. I've picked this over the City to Surf purely because it was more of a race and I reckon that, comparatively, the time is better.

Top 3 Films:

1. The Fighter
2. The Guard
3. Bridesmaids

Top book:

A Week in December (probably makes my top 3 ever)

Top Viral Clip:

Annoying Orange meets Lady Pasta I share my kids' love for Annoying Orange.

So, there it is. Head to Heads will get refreshed. Tucks can't go missing next year otherwise I'll introduce a forfeit system. Thamal will get added as a stretch target. Looking forward to 2012. Aim is to run 2:33 at Gold Coast, go well in some 10kms and beat my long-standing Half Marathon PB. More Cross Country, more long tempo runs but otherwise more of the same.

Ta da.

Peroni

Easy 8km first thing in the morning. Legs couldn't get going and felt every ache and pain. Think my body is still adjusting to upping the mileage from zero. 88km this past week. Ran the 7.5km route in 32:46 then continued up to the coffee shop in Fairlight.

Coopers again

11.8km in 46:58 (3:58's). Went out in the warmth of the late afternoon at a comfortable pace. Yesterday that was 4:40's, today it was 4:00's. Make hay while the sun shines.
Now to prepare the house before Timmy et al arrive for beers tomorrow...

Sapporo

8.7km recovery run in about 4:35's feeling the effects of the last couple of days, Finished off with a 150m race against Jack, my 14 year old nephew. Bec's birthday today so dinner at a Teppanyaki restaurant, hence the title.

Tempo time

Got a text from the Tiger yesterday suggesting a 16km tempo at 3:45s. It sounded ambitious given it would follow my first long run in 10 weeks, but you can't turn down an offer from the Tiger so agreed to meet him at 7:30am at Drummoyne Rowers. We did a warm up, he showed me all the 250m markers he'd painted on to the pathway (including the 16km end spot in large letters next to a smiley face) and we jogged back to the start.
Gary set off like a hare and I followed behind. We ran he first 4km together sharing the wind which was pretty strong and I knew which would make the tempo target all the harder. Gary dropped off coming up the bridge near 5km and I just tried to maintain 3:45's but more often than not found myself running 3:46's. My breathing was fine but the legs were dead from yesterday - no zip so I knew that to pick up the pace over the final 3km to make up for lost time would be tough. Did laps of the Bay in 26:00 and 26:12 and finished in 1:00:36. So 3:47 average pace (despite my Garmin showing 16.17km and 3:44 pace - i'll take Gary with Action's measuring wheel every time). Gary finished in the 63's. Another good one under the belt. I'm convinced these long tempos will do some good.

VB

Bush run Part 1.

After a great Christmas Day where I stuffed myself full of Christmas Pudding and Pavlova and couldn't get comfortable for about 30mins after crashing in bed due to my bloated stomach, I was up and out by 6.30am to meet Dicky G, Paul Macca and Justin(?) for a run "with a few trails, but nothing too technical" as Dicky described it. Nice easy pace to start with (and throughout) which was a welcome relief. Headed up the side of Manly Dam, along Wakehurst Parkway, through Forestville and down towards Roseville Bridge but back along the pipeline. Some monstrous hills in there which immediately reminded me of Six Foot and wondered why the hell I'd entered. Beautiful morning though and good company meant the 2:15 passed in no time. About 25kms.

Billecart Salmon

My usual 14km Manly route. Set off with Alec and Gill who were doing the same route but only 12km's turning just before South Steyne. Worked out we'd probably all finish at the same time that way and that's the way it turned out. Clocked every km between 4:10 and 4:15. Felt comfortable other than between 10 and 12km where the humidity affected me. Had forgotten what it's like to struggle through the humidity. All up 58:59 (4:12's) turning in 29:45.

Bollinger

Just 10km from work in 42:45, following a Tiger massage this morning. Feeling very tired.

Hickson Road

Stuffed at work so couldn't make the start, so joined in on rep 2 and only did 4. They went:

3:42
3:40
3:38
3:37

Ran at the front with Bartles, Ray, Andy and in-form Scotty. Ray went off like a madman on the last rep and only just got in touch with him at the end after he went lactic in the final 100m. Nice to spend at least a little time at the front again though.

The first was tough but they felt more manageable after that. Can't believe I've done 5 of these in 3:30 or under before though. Still the toughest session and one from which men are made from. Noticeable that Enda and Kanser were missing...

Coopers Pale Ale

Just a run home after a stressful day in the office. First run home in a while though. Ran it surprisingly quick (54:43) feeling pretty good, but the conditions were perfect (cool and no wind). Ran past Fats on the Harbour Bridge and said hello. He shouted back something along the lines of his New Year's resolution being to turn up to HuRTS. We'll see.

HuRTS 4 x 10mins

Frantic at work. Fronted up late. Joined in after about 15s. Tucks, Charlie and man-in-form Scott O'Connor were way out in front with Andy valiantly chasing and Timmy, Rich H and I chatting along in the next group. Was working far harder than normal though just to keep 3:35 pace going. Quickened up a bit on the way back running with Enda. Then on rep 3 set off with Timmy but soon developed a neck strain trying to work out where he was. Turned out he'd decided to bludge again, running (and later swimming) with the ladies. He can't seem to handle this session. Ran 5 yards behind Andy for the whole rep and picked up Scott towards the end, averaging about 3:32's. Then, with dead legs and a lack of ticker I rolled through the 4th getting back in 9:43 watching Tucks and Fast Charlie fly by around Farm Cove.

Plenty of improvement to come. Good to see Big Sam out there planning his assault on London Marathon. Paul Macca, MC, Luke and others also making welcome returns.

It will get easier, it will get easier...

Decided to add some ammunition to Timmy's cause by posting some photos. I think this one involved Enda describing his experiences in Bangkok to JC and Kanser.

MLR Sunday

Decided it was time to try and start to up the kms today. Fixed on a 19km run which was basically my 14km Manly route plus a loop of the Golf Course on the way out and at the end. Plan was to run the second half a bit quicker and finish strong. Reached half way (9.53km) in 38:42 and still felt OK at 15km (60:48) so spent the final 4km trying to get the average pace under 4:00 for the total run. Had to put in a bit of effort as a result and felt pretty tired at the end. All up 19.1km in 1:16:02 (3:59's). Plan to make this my standard Saturday run leading up to next year's marathon, hopefully getting the pace down to 3:40's.

Saturday squeeze

Just the short Manly 7.5km route in 29:46. Will try a longer one tomorrow.

HuRTS Awards Night

Thursday night was the annual awards night. Bigger turnout than ever as HuRTS goes from strength to strength with about 40 people turning up for the night of nights. I even got a little bit nervous before the presentation such was the anticipation for some of the biggest accolades in Australian running. Benny St was there to present the awards to the following:

Male Performance of the Year: Tucks. It seems that HuRTS is falling foul to the creeping influence of the off road ultra brigade.

Female Performance of the Year: Laura. This was never in doubt.

Most Improved: Young Timmy. A controversial choice for many. He only knocked 40s off his 10km PB for God's sake. But it goes to prove that if you shout about it loud enough, people will listen.

The Serg Award: MC. My prediction is he won't retain it next year though. Early money is on Young Timmy.

HuRTS Spirit Award: Dicky H. Always listening. Always joking. Always running. Always drinking.

I missed a large part of the evening on a work call but it meant Friday I wasn't feeling too shabby. Did 10km in the late afternoon, 20:24 at half way and 39:18 all up. Felt great for the first time in 6 weeks (final 2km in under 7 mins) so things are looking up.

Too busy

8km in 32:00 alone.

HuRTS 2 x 20mins

Much excitement amongst the HuRTS chattering class today, with the perennial underperformer announcing an exciting new session for the squad - 2 x 20mins! There was a lot of thought and science put into this new session. Those who whispered mutterings to the effect that it was nothing more than 8 x 5mins or 4 x 10mins but with fewer rests were immediately shot down for doubting our peerless leader and training guru.

So off we went, after establishing that the proponent of the session was not coming because he'd tweaked his hammy again. Ran with J-Fen (who was taking it easy today) on the way out. Struggled with 3:40 pace but we covered 5.48km in the 20 mins (3:38's). On the way back I was by myself until Kanser and J-Fen joined me around CQ so I ran with them. Felt pretty tired on the hills but got back in 19:29 (3:33 pace).

11km all up.

Monday getting longer

Out with the squad (chasing them for the first km) which included MC, the King, Craig, Big Sam, Jonathan W, Rob and Clyde but which splintered around Farm Cove. Ended up doing about 11km at 4:26 pace.

Bit of effort

Headed out at 5pm with Dicky Green for what I thought would be an easy 10km (Dicky's been off for 10 days sick). Pace was never quite comfortable though. I think Dicky was enjoying putting me out of my comfort zone. Ended up with 10.4km in 42:00 (4:02's). Longest run in about 5 weeks. Ran past 200 Santas, 6 reindeer and a Christmas Tree. All pissed.

Wearing the Wave Elixir's with the laces tied low and seems to work well for the technique and achilles.

More plodding

7.8km on the paths up to Seaforth and back. Wore new Wave Elixirs. That's about as much interest I can muster.

Great run by Benny St this evening to be the first Aussie track runner assured of a spot in the Olympics. I'll enjoy watching him from the stands.

Passport Photos

Today was an easy 7.5km with Rob, Craig, Ray and a few others before having a massage with the Tiger. Achilles a bit sore so will take it easy over the next couple of days and do all the stretches.

Kids had their passport photos taken this week. They were told that they weren't allowed to smile and that they might not be allowed out of the country if their photos showed them smiling. Billy managed to look like a zombie, Charlie looks like he wants a fight and Maggie couldn't help but sneak a smirk in. Claudia was only one who could look vaguely normal.

Losing track

I think last Tuesday I was with the squad doing fartlek easily.
Wed was a rest.
Thursday was 8km easy.
Friday was department Christmas party.
Sat was a hungover 8km.
Sunday was a lively 8km.
Monday was a rest.
Tuesday an 8km run home before getting a taxi at Spit Junction.
Wednesday was over 8km at home at 4min km pace.
Today I joined the squad for the first proper session in weeks. 4 x 2km. Planned from the start just to run with MC doing 7mins per rep but unfortunately he's improved a bit so it was 6:50, 6:50, 6:50 and 6:48. Struggled through it lacking both pace and stamina, but survived and the achilles is OK. Kanser and Andy H have both hit form. Clyde did his usual burglar activity and Tucks was wondering why everyone was running so fast. Plainly he's been out on the trails for too long. I won't even mention Timmy.
Fingers crossed for Billy tomorrow.

Piling it on

..the weight that is, not the training.

Wednesday was a rest and too wet to ride in.

Thursday was an easy 7km joining in a few of the Gate to Gates at the back. No bike though as too wet again.

Friday was recovery from our client Christmas party.

Saturday was 6km picking the car up from the International Hotel Management School after another function (it's silly season) and 10 mins sweating it out on the spin bike doing a minute resistance and minute spin.

Sunday was another easy 6km and 20 mins on the spin bike doing 2 mins resistance, 2 mins spin.

Today was a very easy 8km with the HuRT Squad including MC, Kanser, Clyde, Mat K, Craig, James V, Indrajeet, Laura etc. Rode in and out too. Finally the weather is perfect again.

Have gained 4kg in 3 weeks and now weigh 70.3kg. My singlets feel snug. But good news is that the achilles feels heaps better. Swelling right down, no pain, have increased the weight on my back doing the eccentric loading and booked in to see the Butcher of Bondi tomorrow. So things are looking up.

Big shout to my eldest brother Jamie for running 2:49 in the Florence Marathon yesterday. Fantastic result. Plainly he's been listening to the wise counsel of his little brother.

The rot sets in

Saturday was a rest. Sunday was fulflling my duty as the ANSW rep (Mens) for the Striders at the ANSW Relays out at Homebush. After fiddling around with the teams for a week I found myself down to run in the 4 x 800m (160+) with Mat Kaley, Ray and Anna. Mat ran a great first leg in 2:09, Ray backed up with a 2:12, Anna got us into 2nd place with a 2:30 (first ever track race!) and I took over the last leg with Michael Doggett right behind me. I was a pussy from the start, running it like a 3000m race trying to conserve some energy. Doggett came past at 200m and just ran away from me. Eventually finished in 2:13 with my tail between my legs (and swollen achilles). At least we got a bronze medal. Jogged 6km in the 34C heat as a "warmdown".

Monday rode to work and back feeling good but didn't run as the achilles was sensitive. Took Voltaren last night just to try and blast away the swelling (it's already a lot more supple). Rode to work this morning then showed up to the HuRTS session today (45min fartlek) and just ran 6.75km very easy with Pete W, Sonya, Emma and James V. Will ride home in the rain shortly. I might become a cyclist. There's not enough gear to buy with just running.

Friday repeat

Same again. Run in 24:48. Saw Mark Green again - just after Clyde and just before Kanser. The HuRT Squad is keeping them in business. He said that runners shouldn't worry about climbing out of the saddle so happily did so on the way home.

Tosh.O

Funniest show on TV.

Same as yesterday, ride in, 6km at lunch concentrating on technique (24:32) and a ride home. Bloody wet.

It's worse than childbirth

I don't know of any female who has returned to see Jean Pierre after a first visit. And yet women more often than not have more than one baby. Therefore seeing JP must be more painful. My calf is now pulp and swollen to twice its normal size. But I survived.

Rode to work in 39:41, did 6km easy at lunch then rode home very carefully in the rain. My tyres are almost slicks and I took a deep breath at every corner and going over every white line.

On ya Bike

Saw The Body Mechanic yesterday. Got to take it easy on the running for a while. Go back on Friday to get a plan. In the meantime I've booked in to see the Butcher of Bondi tomorrow. I'll take a leather strap to bite on and some tissues to wipe away the tears.

Today was a very easy 6km on grass wearing flats with heel raises. Concentrated on running technique which made time pass very slowly. Then rode home on The Orb this evening, feeling much stronger on the bike than I expected (managed to get up Battle Boulevard at a good pace without getting out of the saddle). I'll suffer tomorrow but will use the bike to commute to keep the weight off. Used our funky new scales to weight myself this evening - 66.6kg. Very appropriate.

Nipper overload

There was no Part 2. Achilles issues and business put paid to that. Going to see a specialist on Wednesday morning.

Today was an easy 11.5km in 49:07 (4:17's) on the Manly 14km route cutting straight back from Queenscliff. Achilles was OK but aware of it the whole way.

Hong Kong Part 1

Met up with the lovely Aine (who true to form was off the back of consecutive 12 hour benders) and her work colleague Nick for one of the most interesting training runs I've ever done. Hong Kong is nuts. We ran through the busiest metropolis in the world, up the steepest longest path I've ever seen, through rainforest seeing fireflies, along a ridge with the most spectacular views, once around Happy Valley Racecourse and back to Wan Chai. 1:21 but very slow. Fantastic run though.

Lane Cove 10km - 3rd in 33:40

Got picked up by Ben, Dickyboy and the Hamburglar and arrived at 6.30am to park next to Andy with his personalised number plated BMW X3 and walked over to meet a beaming Timmy. CT was getting the excuses in early, something about Greta making him clean the apartment this week. Thamal was looking confident and the Horne was looking mean.

Set off and I felt great for the first 2km, just tracking whoever took the lead. CT took some of the pace, then the Horne (who seemed to have splashed a fair bit of Old Spice on this morning) and then Thamal. Then we hit Scribbly Gum. Pushed quite hard going up it to stick with Thamal but then coming back down my legs were struggling and Thamal and the Horne gapped me. They were about 3 seconds ahead at 3km but over the next 2km up the hills they must have turned it into 20s. I was on my own from here. CT was about 10s back so it was a time trial. Occasionally I'd feel I was slowing so would try and count to 100 to keep the pace up. But otherwise it was a bit dull. A bit like an Ultra to be honest, just running through the bush with only myself for company. Tried to keep the pace honest but was a bit disappointed to cross in 33:40. I was expecting something sub 33 today and had the runners who did that (the Horne won with Thamal second, both just under 33) but I just didn't have it in the legs. Sole consolation was beating CT, but given he had an off day it's a bit of a hollow victory.

Perhaps it's a lesson that if you want to run a good 10km you've really got to be putting in the mileage and the big Sunday runs. I seem to do best over 10km when I'm doing the big Sunday run and backing up with a tough Wednesday run. The speedwork is great for the shorter stuff. Interestingly, I ran a very similar time at Lane Cove in November 2008 before backing up 4 days later with 17:23 at the JPMorgan CC, again off the back of more speedwork.

Timmy took $20 off me nudging under 36 with a gutsy 35:45. Binfield ran pretty well for 5th place but otherwise the times weren't great. Conditions were perfect at the start but pretty warm by the time we finished.

Not a bad day for a run

Very easy 10.5km today with MC, King James, Craig, Brendan and a few others. About 4:40 pace. Perfect running conditions. Hope it stays like this for tomorrow. Photo taken from office window just now. Looks like a bit of a jam going into Wooloommooloo.

Bummin' about

Rocked up late to the 4 x 2kms, bumped into them half way down Hickson Road so ran back with Clyde and Andy. They were going a bit quick for my liking so did the next rep with MC in 7:00, then ran the final rep with Clyde and Andy pretty quickly in 6:28. Took some Nurofen Forte this morning for my burned throat which left me feeling a bit lethargic. About 10km all up.

Cup Hangover

It bit hard.

Managed to get out this evening for a lazy 12.5km in 55:53 (4:28's) feeling pretty good by the end. Usual Wednesday route but cutting back to the office from Fox Studios gates. Looking forward to Saturday.

The Race that stops a Nation!

..and I lost out on $1,250 by 1mm. Red Cadeaux was in front before the line and after the line, but got his head dip wrong.

Was stuck in a meeting in North Sydney when the boys were doing 400's, and still when the rest of the squad were doing a progressive tempo, but managed to sneak in a quick run just before the Melbourne Cup. Decided a 10km tempo was the best way to complete a decent run in the time available so did my measured route from the office. After a slow first 1km (3:52) I basically gave it full effort. Ran in the Brooks T-6's with orthotics in as my achilles has been giving me gyp. Reached 5km in 17:37, was expecting to run back up the hills in 18:00 but managed to finish in 34:59. The negative split was mainly due to a 3:10 final km trying to get under 35mins.

Easy Monday

Took Friday off with a sore achilles and hangover. Was heading to Centennial for Sean's session on Sat morning when I got called back home due to a home intruder. Trawled the streets of Fairlight looking for her then had to deal with CSI. I'd come down with a cold anyway so didn't feel like going running. Sunday still felt crap so another day's rest.

So today I was well rested for the usual 15.8km route. Very easy pace and felt full of energy. 1:11:15. Durante was there, bouncing around as usual.

HuRTS 8 x 800m

Over to Rushcutters again and off with the shoes for 8 x 800m going off a rolling 4 minutes. Good crowd seeing as MC allowed me to change the official session so Tucks, Kanser, Timmy, J-Fen, Richie H, Big Sam, Pete W, Vicky Joe, MC himself, Laura, Emma and a heap of others were in attendance. I had Tucks alongside for the first couple and leading the final rep and Vicky Joe blasting out rep number 5 otherwise I was leading. Reps went as follows:

2:22
2:21
2:23
2:22
2:22
2:21
2:21
2:14

Felt comfortable again barefoot but I'll pay the price with my achilles tomorrow. Kanser took a step forward today, running the reps with J-Fen in the 2:27 - 2:28 range before a quick final one. Poor little Timmy seems to be a bit out-classed these days. Rumour is he's shying away from my Lane Cove bet. So that'll be $20 please young sir.

11km all up.

Mid week wanderings

Massage this morning with the Tiger which worked wonders then rocked up at lunchtime with Kanser, Big Sam, RMR, King James, John Bowe and the Whores for the Centennial route. I was planning on cutting back at Fox Studios and only doing 12km but felt good today so continued on for 15km with the rest of the group.

1:06:42 (4:27's).

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Somehow managed to find some time in the day to get down to HuRTS. Felt tired from the off. Arrived to find a massive crowd gathered (JPMorgan aka the HuRTS Squad Champs are around the corner). We started with a very easy rep in about 3:26 pace and then Bartles, Richie H and Vicky Joe took turns to face the wind while Ray, Tucks, J-Fen, Jason, TB and I bludged. Richie in particular was running very strongly. I was finishing mid pack (Tucks was even behind) and just felt fatigued. However, looking at my watch we were averaging 3:15 to 3:18 pace per rep so I wasn't too bothered. A few pulled out after 10. A few more after 12 and then I suddenly felt really good running the final 2 reps in 3:06 and 3:02 pace. A few days rest and I'm confident things will come together.

16km all up.

Long run in

Summer has arrived. I had forgotten how hard the long run can get in the heat. Ran my 14km Manly route (Shelley and back) in 60:15 (4:17's) after turning at Shelley in 30:24. Then drank some Endura, brushed my teeth, picked my bag up and ran into work (57:38). Running to work was bloody hard, every hill was a real struggle and it was as much as I could do just to keep on turning the legs over.

All up 27km. Struggling with fatigue at the moment but hoping it's just a phase I'll pull through.

Easy Sunday

11.76km in the late afternoon with the elder 2 kids riding their bikes alongside. 52:03 (4:25's). Very tired after yesterday's session and achilles very sore.

More Centennial Stuff

Session this morning was 6km tempo followed by 10 hills. Long warm up, chatting to Keith, Wildman and CT then straight into it. The big guns went off like hares (Benny and Harry went through 5km in 13:59 and did the 6km in 16:40) while I found myself alone as usual - it was a real tempo. CT had gone off hard and hung on well today running 18:35. I did the kms in 3:07, 6:20, 9:35, 12:52, 16:08 and finishing in 19:16. Barefoot again.

Quick chat and jog over to a 100m fairly gentle slope for the hills. These were pretty hard as they were run quick (about 21/22s) with a quick jog back down between each. Then finished with another easy internal loop of the white fence with Wildman, CT and a fast chap called Tony.

CT definitely favourite for the $20 off today's performance.

16km all up.

HuRTS 10 x 400m

Hardcore band of merry men today, strictly for the current form 35min 10km runner. Timmy was nowhere to be seen. Tucks, TB, Richie H, Vicky Joe, J-Fen, Ray and Richies mate fronted on a beautiful day. Check out the shot from my phone on my (very late) commute into work this morning:



We marked out 400m around the Oval - 410m on my Garmin but 400m on others (I don't cut the corners - at least when marking out the lap). The grass was in fantastic condition so I went barefoot again and started the session - each rep run off a rolling 2 minutes. Times were:

68
67
66
67
68
66
66
67
66
62

I was in front on each, had Tucks on my shoulder for most (with him in the lead for the first half on a few) and had to work hard to reel in Vicky Joe on the last. But once again loved the barefoot running. Not the same fatigue on the final 3 reps that I usually get.

10km all up.

Even better than the view from the boat this morning were the views down in Circular Quay at lunchtime where one of my spies took this pic:



Go Cat!

Stuffaroo'd

Manic at work. Managed to sneak out for an 8km jog at 7.30pm before back to the office. Knackered from running anyway.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Lovely day. The usual healthy crowd with a good core group of 5 of us (J-Fen, Bartles, Dicky High, Gus McGillivray and myself) upfront. After last month's effort, I decided just to sit in and bludge off everyone until the final 3km (Opera House gates). That's basically how it went. Felt quite comfortable (physically, not mentally) bludging. We reached halfway opposite the Lend Lease steps so a good effort, the pace then dropped with no-one wanting to do any work into the wind. Running alongside the Toaster I realised we were unlikely to get back in time unless we upped the pace a lot so I started pushing the fast sections hard. This damn near killed me with just Bartles clinging on. Got a slight gap coming up the hills which he closed on the last easy 30 second section. Finished in 44:56 so judged it well. The Garmin measured it accurately at 12.8km averaging 3:30's.

Had stomach cramps all afternoon. I took Voltaren last night and this morning as my achilles was swollen and so I could hammer the eccentric loading. It's disagreed with me (other than for the achilles).

15km all up.

Long Monday

Did 8km by myself struggling and feeling tired, then joined the usual HuRTS squad Monday run and immediately felt good chatting away. Huge crowd but I was chatting mainly to MC, Tucks, TB, Big Sam and Jonathon W. Of the huge crowd, only those guys (less JW), plus the King and Brendan ran the whole thing. I then tagged on a couple of extra km to make it up to 26km. Beautiful day and perfect temp for running.

26.2km in 1:55:48 (4:25's).

Steady Sunday

Hungover this morning after drowning my Welsh glory sorrows in The Steyne last night so only managed a steady 11.5km this afternoon. Despite having spent the whole weekend on my feet I felt great today. 45:50 (3:59s). Seem to have hit a bit of a purple patch. Will try to squeeze a long one in tomorrow.

Wallabies beaten by the better team. That Dagg fella was my man of the match.

Bejaysus! Just seen the results from Burnie 10. Wildman just missing the win but running sub 30 and beating this years City to Surf winner!

Tempo 10km

Over to Centennial this morning to join Sean's group for a tempo 10km. It was pissing with rain and as I sat in the car at 7:25am I seriously contemplated driving straight home. HTFU'd and joined in the 4km warm up chatting to Anna F who was making a first time appearance with Sean.

CT, Huw Williams, Benny St and a couple of other fast guys turned up and we were off in the pouring rain. Made a last minute decision to run barefoot as were on the 1km loop of the playing fields. The corners were a bit slippery but otherwise it was a great choice. Benny disappeared off into the distance and I settled into a group with Huw, Sean, CT and 2 others. They pulled ahead on the 3rd lap but given I was doing km splits of 3:13 or thereabouts I wasn't fussed. Went through 5 laps (5.1km on my Garmin) in 16:28. Caught CT at 7.5km. Pushed on to finish in 32:51 (16:23 second 5km) but feeling great. There really is something in this barefoot running stuff. I notice my stride being shorter but the cadence being higher and seem to suffer fewer aches or fatigue. Although the Garmin said 10.2km, CT reckons it's 9.8km. Still pleased with the time. He finished in 33:50 bludging the last 2 laps and claiming we need to renegotiate the bet. But he's a wily old fella and I can tell he's trying to rort me in some fashion.

Friday run in

Ran in. Holey moley. Small girls on trikes were overtaking me this morning. Not sure of time as my watch ran out of juice half way, very shortly before I did. 27:45 at Spit Junction so I'm guessing high 58's all up.

Been thinking about last night and I'm just proud to have competed with those chaps. Timmy really is an awesome swimmer.

115km for the week.

Biathlon bollx

I needed a minute! I only had 52 seconds and the wily old bugger beat me by 5 seconds. Set off quick tracking CT before he pushed ahead up the hills. Stuck with Fast Charlie until 1.5km when he started catching CT. I was then on my own, but closed in a bit in the final 500m. Finished the 4km run in 12:48. Then spent what felt like a frickin' age trying to get my trainers off before I dived in and before I knew it, Dicky H was coming past. Then Jamie Stewart, then Enda, then Pete W. I think that's it, before I hear Kanser screaming at me from the end of lane 4 telling me Timmy's just behind. Reach the end of lane 5 still ahead and thinking I had a chance. Then inexorably Timmy comes past with 20m to go. Managed to stay ahead of Eoin and Christian so at least I wasn't last placed HuRTs man.

Finished in 19:23, a new PB but $30 poorer. Enjoyable beers after handing over the money to Timmy with Enda, Kanser, CT and Greta in attendance. Fantastic news to hear that Greta is pregnant, no doubt that kid will be able to run. CT was kind enough to offer me a bet for Lane Cove - $20 with him giving me a 20s start. Got something to work towards now.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Woke up feeling very tired again and sore. This will be a 115km week, stepping up from 80km and 15km over the previous 2 weeks so it's probably no surprise. Have got the biathlon on this evening and wanted to stretch the legs a bit so headed down to the HuRTs session on Hickson Road and just ran easily in the second group. Pace was between 3:40 and 3:55 (per/km - 4:15 to 4:25 overall) for each of the reps. Big crowd with J-Fen running from the front but Kanser and Clyde looked very pleased at the end describing in detail how they pulled him in on the final rep.

Have $30 on a head to head with Timmy tonight. He tends to swim 5:00 - 5:15 for the 300m and I'm very consistent on 6:00 with my breastroke, so I reckon I need a minute over the 4km run to be safe. CT and Fast Charlie will no doubt take it out very quick so I'll just try to stick behind them for as long as possible. The tension is mounting.

Wednesday MLR

Out with Jonathan Wors, Big Sam (yay!), John Bowe and Keith for the usual Wednesday route. However, they all peeled off after one lap of Centennial leaving me to run the second half alone. I think John Bowe did after I gave him a whole load of grief for his handicapping for the Striders Internal Half on Sunday. Me giving Tucks a minute headstart - are you joking? Giving Timmy 6 minutes - is he having a laugh? JB 6 minutes!!!!

Easy pace run (1:22:23 - 4:26's for the 18.6km). Heel a bit sore as is my swollen toe, but no-one wants to hear about that. Saw the Tiger for a massage this morning. I blame him for pulling my toes out of their toe sockets in his obsession with deal with plantar fascia issues.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

Massive crowd today and the temperature is rising. Dicky High was sweating before we'd even started but seemed to calm down once he realised Timmy hadn't shown up.

I was tired from the current heavy training load so the plan was just to try and stick in for as long as possible. The group upfront was Bartles, Fast Charlie, J-Fen, Dicky H, Enda and Vicky Joe on the first rep, with Bartles pushing on and the rest of us chasing. Gangsta Jason appeared on the 3rd and 4th reps running very well. The third was interesting as Fast Charlie, Gangsta Jason and Bartles opened up a big gap ahead of J-Fen and myself before we crawled our way back to them by the Art Gallery. This was after I had a head on collision with some doofus just after Mrs Mac's Chair. Times were as follows:

9:55
9:28
9:57
9:32

So very similar to August 2nd. Don't feel as rodgered back in the office as I obviously did back then judging by the report I wrote.

Run home

Felt very sore all day. Had a huge lasagne and chips for lunch, followed by a big Tiramisu and still felt bloated at 7.30pm. Ran home in any case. Bumped into Martin Thomas in the city and ran to Military Road with him. Nice easy run as a result and legs feeling better this evening. 59:16.

Longish Sunday

Out with Dickyboy, Ben and Tim Peel for plenty of bush and hills. Ran to Dee Why hugging the coastline (include the very technical trail in front of the Windy Drop Down estate) then up the longest and steepest hill in the world to the top of Red Hill. Back via Manly Dam trails then around Queenscliff and Manly. 26.01km in 2:06:14 (4:51's). Soles of feet now very sore due to all the rock hopping.

Some great results from Melbourne with TB running 2:37:05, Macca 2:37:50, JB 2:39:15 and JC dipping under 2:50 - fantastic for someone who ran many marathons trying to get under 3 hours. Also congrats to Tucks for taking out the Fitzroy Falls Fire Trail marathon on Saturday in 2:47 against good competition. Undoubtedly King of the Trails.

Saturday Tighe session

Wanted a tough session today so planned for the hardest one I do - 5km hard, 8 x 250m hill then 5km hard. Dickyboy agreed to join in but had Cameron in the pram so was just running at 4min kms, cutting short a couple of sections to give me something to chase.

I ran 17:10 then 17:24. Not quite as good as the week post State 10km (where I did 17:17 and 17:15) but I just couldn't keep it up on the second 5km - in June I felt good on the final lap, today I was just holding on running 3:30's before putting in a final sprint. Still, it was consistent and it is done.

A few more recent photos for the family:

Run in

Met up with Dickyboy in Fairlight and ran to work with him. Was intending on a nice easy pace but Dicky starts with a 4:10 and keeps the pace up the whole way, clocking sub4 mins kms along Military Road. I was trying to chat but was gasping for breath mid-sentence.

Ended up with 54:46 after 26:15 at Spit Junction. Dicky goes a slightly different route through Neutral Bay and once off the bridge but I don't think it affects the overall tuime too much. Turns out he tries to beat his time to run in each time he does it.

82km for the week.

Couple of photos from holiday:

Kids on the beach:



Highs and Highnams:

HuRTS Pyramid

Really small crowd today. Tucks showed up at the Art Gallery but sporting an iPod and just heading off for a jog before he attempts to cement his position as King of the Trails in the Fitzroy Falls Fire Trail Marathon on Saturday. Bartles, New Dad J-Fen, Todd, Ray, Hamish and Killa were men there for the real session.

Bit nervous beforehand, haven't done any speed in weeks (and nothing since pulling out of SMH) so set of gingerly but felt quite comfortable. Reps went as follows:

82
2:47
4:12
5:38
4:11
2:42
75

Ran them all bludging off Bartles until the final lap of each rep where I'd take the wind. Times were comparable to what I did back in May but without feeling absolutely shattered. Uncomfortable running 3min kms again mind. Took my shoes off half way through and ran the back reps barefoot. Interestingly it felt easier doing so. I could be on to something here. I've discovered a new running technique I'm going to reveal to the world...

Home again

10km in shoes both yesterday and this morning. Then a 10 hour drive back to Sydney. Slow yesterday, steady this morning (4 min kms). Stiff and sore now. Need to get back into the regime again.

Attempt at a longer one

Did 5.5km along the roads (seeing Charlie D drive past in the process) then hit Tallows beach running the length from Broken Head to Byron Bay lighthouse and back. I'd bandaged my blistered toes but the tide was high and I was running on the soft sand and in the sea when I couldn't avoid the waves. Before I hit the lighthouse the bandages were flapping off. 2km later the toes were shredded. Felt a bit sick with the pain at the end, but finished up with 20.78km in 1:35:10.

Mr Sand Man

Yesterday was a very easy 8km barefoot on the sand again with the blistered toes feeling very sore. Averaged about 4:17's.

Today I had 30mins to fit a run in before LF Charlie was turning up with family to watch the mighty Sea Eagles win the Grand Final. This place has become a HuRT Squad northern base over the past week. With only 30mins to spare I went hard from the beginning, feeling great before turning after 15mins only to discover I'd been running with the benefit of a strong Southerly. Finished up with 8.04km in 31:04 averaging 3:51's. Again, on the sand barefoot. Feel as though all this barefoot sand running has done great things for my PF and achilles, with no issues from them whatsoever.

Great Grand Final to watch, even for the impartial observer with Glenn Stewart, Will Hopoate and Shaun Johnston showing some lovely bits of magic. LF Charlie managed to remain suitable muted, but at least his eldest son showed some allegiance.

Good results from Homebush yesterday. Tucks beat my Homebush PB by 13 seconds so will be hard to beat from here on. Timmy is on his summer decline and Kanser is slowly progressing. Thought JF would go quicker though. But then I remembered he's probably only had 3 hours unbroken sleep for the past 2 weeks so fair play..