Thursday keeping the legs interested

Easy 10km with a 15min Fartlek thrown in (8 x 1min in, 1min off).  Solo and around the Bot Gardens.  

Summer pumped now.

Melbourne Wed

Very easy 9km at lunch with a few hills thrown in.  Getting pumped.

Melbourne last effort

5 days to go and a final effort.  Up at 5am and in meetings all day but sneaked out at 6.30pm for a session around the Tan.  Almost gave up on it but pleased not to.

Easy jog out then changed into the flats for 5 x 3mins hard, 1min easy, 1min hard off 90s jog recovery.  Struggled slightly in the wind and dark but ended up with a rock solid session averaging 3:29 pace (7km covered) throughout despite the hills and float rests.  Sunday will be very interesting.  I reckon I'll either go great or shit.

Even managed a Tan Strava segment top 10 which must be rare given the numbers who run it:

Easy

10km easy with 4 x hills thrown in towards the end.  Flutes working well.  Nice shout from Keith Bateman on the Domain who I haven't seen in yonks.

BTW, did anyone hear anything from Neil about me deliberately omitting him from any mention yesterday?

Post Gastro

Well, got a bit of gastro late Friday.  Tried a run late Saturday and lasted 500m before giving up.  Most frustrating thing was that I was at Wolgan Valley and couldn't take advantage of the free food and booze.  

Got back home this afternoon and, feeling better, headed out for 90mins.  Felt magic after the first km, no doubt from effectively 3 days rest.  Did the Manly Dam route going home via Eastern Hill in Manly for 21.6km in 4:07's.  Passed Asian Dave in Balgowlah.  

Excited about next Sunday.  Everyone appears to be running really well - particularly Barts, Scotty, Robin and Nick Roberts.  But you can never discount CT, Quentin and Lewis.  Very difficult race to predict.

In them there mount'ns

AM:  30mins in Wentworth Falls.  Two observations.  First, it's very hilly and very traily.  I managed 4.5km in my 30mins.  Second, when in the bush, I feel the need to crap.  I'm like a bear.  A search for broad leaved bushes ensued this morning.

PM:  Feeling as though this morning didn't count, headed out at dusk in Wolgan Valley for 6km.  Got scared when a boulder started barrelling towards me, turned out to be a wombat.  Kirst reminded me of the time Warrior Charlie saved Claudia in a similar situation when camping with him in Kangaroo Valley.   

Gradually feeling better post-fever with gastro issues being the underlying problem.  Even managed 22 straight push-ups this evening!

Wednesday farked

Got up and ran to work in the freezing rain and wind.  17.5km via Manly beach. Felt shit the whole way and think I pushed myself over the edge.  Started coming down with a fever in the afternoon and was tucked up in bed with no desire for dinner by 8pm.

Fortunately, Gary had a very easy Thursday and Friday on the program - perhaps he predicted this - although he couldn't have predicted the Tuesday and Wednesday weather.

Didn't even manage my 22 push ups.  But now away with Kirst in the mountains  for the weekend for a bit of R&R.  Hopefully recover quickly for C2S which I'm pumped about.

Fun in the rain

AM:  6km very easy

PM:  Jogged to ES Marks after work.  It was pissing down.  And cold.  Wore 2 t-shirts, my milk tray thermal and a hoodie.

Turned up to find an almost deserted track but a full strength Runcrew which says a lot about the squad.  Matt, Keith, Gerald, Alex, Neil and Vlad all there.  Session was 2km + 10x400m + 2km.  Rain was so heavy it was a joke and Gary sensibly had us jogging between every rep to keep warm.  1 lap jog between each set and 200m jog between the 400's.

Stuffed up my watch on the first 2km but I'd guess 6:15.  Then every 400m rep was around 72s (with Neil going particularly well) then finished off with a 6:18 with only Matt in front which was nice.

Token warm down for 14km all up.

14 + 8 push ups tonight. Yay!

BrisVegas

Just 10km squeezed in during a late lunch hour on the Botanical Gardens/river route.  4:30's but it felt quicker.  Must be tired.

Copping a bit of grief from Charlie and Barts on my 22 push up challenge and only managing 10 in one go.  Plainly I need to do more homo-erotic muscle beach action that Charlie is partial to.  I'll aim for 11 tonight...

22 day push-up challenge

Just squeezed in 17km today up Allambie and back via Manly.  Was running along Sydney Road when some mad motorist came down a side lane and almost ran me over.  I was about to give the fool a serve when he wound his window down and it was Macca.  Plainly Timmy is paying him to try and take me out of City to Surf due to him getting cold feet on the 5mins he offered me.

4:29's today feeling much better than yesterday after an evening of pizza and hot dogs.

Have started the 22day push-up challenge today (raising awareness for the 22 ex-servicemen in the US who take their lives EVERY day as a result of PTSD - far outstripping the number who die in combat).  Holy crap.  I managed 10 + 8 + 4 with a healthy minute between each set.  Will see if that improves...

Saturday long run

The Manly Hardcore wanted to run long on Saturday and Barts was calling for a fast finish. Great turn out with Barts, Macca, Craig, Vonky, CT, Scotty, Ray, Toby, Ben and myself all in.  I tentatively planned to join them in upping the pace but decided early on I wasn't up for it.

Dragged my ass home with Ben feeling sorry for myself and wondering why I was feeling that way.  It's been a 113km week with lots of hills but didn't really explain feeling so flat.  Later realised I'd had no carbs the day before.  Grilled chicken and salad in the evening, a quiche at lunch and Mafia Eggs from Belgrave Cartel in the morning.  I'm pretty sensitive to nutrition these days and sure that didn't help.  Need a good Spag Bol before a long run.

Ended up with 29.2km averaging 4:26's.

Friday

8-9km jog around the city.  Much better at end than beginning.  

Thursday HuRTS

Just watched the Obama speech at the DNC.  If he is not the best public speaker of all time then I don't know who is.  Spine tingling stuff.

Did a 5km warm up then met the HuRT Squad at the Park Hyatt and changed into my flats.  No Barts, Q, CT, Hoey, Nicky R or Crossy so I was solo up front today.  Decided to give it a crack in any case.  We split into 2 groups and ran off a rolling 8:30.  My rep times were:

6:13, 6:11, 6:14, 6:12

Nice and consistent but felt very bouncy and good on the first 2 reps but, to be honest, my legs started to feel dead half way through rep 3 so it was a case of just concentrating on form and turning them over.

5km warm down with Andy for 18kmmall up.

All the talk is on Timmy's form and his new found hill-climbing ability.  And now he's in the red centre running a marathon.  What the hell is going on?!

Hilly MLR

A run to work, wanted to do 20km so planned on a loop around Manly Dam before heading in.  Thought Allambie Rd would make it too far so decided on running past Gleeso's house, Manly Vale School, the Manly Dam trail up to Seaforth Oval and then in. 

However, got to Balgowlah RSL and realised I was going to be too short so decided on a "short loop" around Clontarf to make up the distance.  This short loop turned out to be the hardest 3km of the run.  Clontarf is the hilliest suburb out there.  It's also huge.  Plainly there are more wankers North of the Spit Bridge than I had thought.

Got tired near the Harbour Bridge but held on for 21+km averaging 4:29's.

I'm a big fan of the mid-week 20, 20, 20 if the body can stomach it.

All went wrong Tuesday

First missed morning run so did 10km at lunch with Hoey.

Then, missed ES Marks in the evening due to work commitments so sneaked out at 7.30pm for a loop of the city including 4 x Pottinger hills to the HofW then 3 x Argyle/Observatory Hills.  The latter were much harder.

11km all up.

So bitsy training but got some kms in.

Monday

Home. Felt very bouncy. Quick hello to Matt running the opposite direction on the coat hanger.  Attacked the hills and took Banksy's Strava segment up Spit Hill.  Didn't realise it starts at the South end of Spit Bridge though so there's more in it.  He'll be aiming to take it back later this week...

15.2km in 4:20's.

Sunday

Hilly 29km solo after missing the lads due to Maggsies soccer.  Felt good and went quite well (4:24's) which wasn't bad considering the 380m of elevation.

Friday plod

Hungover 11km with Big Jim.  A question of just getting through it.

12 x 500m

Pitch black, pissing rain. What the hell am I doing heading out for a warm-up at 5:50am?  Did 4km knowing I had to get a bit of blood flow in the legs before attempting 500m reps.  

Wasn't surprised to see the dedicated Lewis waiting to start but was to see Ben and Charlie lining up in the conditions.  Off we went with me just trying to hold on to Lewis.  I think the 500m marked out was a bit long (perhaps 3s) but we just ran the same consistent length.  Agreed with Lewis that we would each lead alternate reps which I find is a much easier way to get through them - you can turn off while you're following and just be dragged through.  Seems as though I nominated him to lead the reps into the wind though!

All reps 1:33-1:34 with the last at 1:28.  Solid session.  Legs comfortably numb now.

5km warm down (bumping into Macca) for 16km all up.

Wednesday miserable MLR

Pissing with rain.  The beautiful weather on our return has come to an immediate halt.  Up (jet-lagged) at 5am again so decided just to get it over and done with and meet the Manly crowd.  But where the bloody hell were they?  No Cap'n or Lewis.  Fortunately bumped into Q on Manly beach so ran and chatted with him.

16.1km including 4 Oliver St hills.  Dead slow - I was knackered from last night. Achilles fine but OP giving me a bit of gyp.

Tuesday double

AM:  9km easy with Justin and Jamie along the beach and around the golf course.  

PM:  Jogged to ES Marks after work.  4km hard in 12:24.  Just sat behind Alex R for the first 7 laps until Gary shouted to go ahead.  Then started catching Keith Mc on the final lap finishing just behind.  Felt pretty good.  

Then a bit of a rest before 200m fast, 200m jog x 6.  I may be able to hold on for 4km but I'm woeful at sprinting, being about 10-15m behind Alex, the McPhersons and Matt for each rep.  Basically my 200m reps are run at the same pace as my 4km rep.  I think only Neil P has a worse conversion.

13km all up.

Back in Syd

Easy 10km around the City solo flushing out the jet-lagged legs.  Nice to be back and a lovely day.

Final day

Head back this arvo so set off at 7am for a long run.  Much more pleasant this morning only at 29C.  Headed straight down the Pinellas Trail for 13.5km then returned.  Felt great this morning and ended up averaging 4:13's.  Finally seem to have acclimatised.

Must say the Yanks are really friendly.  3 of them stopped to talk to me this morning - 2 on bikes and 1 at a water stop.  One of them passed on a bike and shouted out "wow, you must be running at 6:30 pace!" and sure enough I'd just done a 4:03 km (6:31 mile) so he knew his stuff.

Headed out after the run to an old-school diner for brekkie where I had the "Country Skillet" which consisted of loads of stuff covered in sausage gravy (essentially lard with sausage bits in it).  Couldn't think of a better long-run recovery meal.

Florida has been much better than I expected.

Weeki Wachi

Out early to Weeki Wachi Springs Park so no early run.  Awesome place.  Old school American place.  Basically a deep water spring in Florida so deep pools with cold water (massive relief from the warm sea).  But the Yanks of course add a few slides and an underwater mermaid show.  

Loved it.

Got back and headed out at 5pm when it was still 33C.  Despite that I felt like adding some speed which I've been neglecting.  Did 2km hard (6:38) then 1km hard (3:07) during the 10.5km which ended up averaging 4:05.  Felt good today.

No speed

Just the usual route - 13km this morning in 4:32's.  Did some strides towards the end.  Then to Busch Gardens which were brilliant - best roller coasters in the world.

Attempt at some speed

Out in the am again (only time it is feasible to run - too hot any later and I've cracked open my first holiday beer by 4.30pm each afternoon in any case).

Decided I needed to try some speed this morning.  Kept on delaying when I would actually try it.  Got to 7km on the Pinellas Trail, turned for home and decided to run back quicker.  Did 5kms under 4min km pace then almost expired with heat exhaustion.  

All up 14km in 4:14's.

Tuesday - Pinellas Trail

Why didn't I find this earlier?  A disused railway line turned into a bike/running trail that runs for 33miles from Tarpon Springs to St Petersburg.  I did 10km in 4:34's.  Slowly acclimatising.

Monday

27.3km in the hottest conditions I've run in.  It was just an exercise of body temperature control - running easy enough so as not to overheat but not so slow that I was out in the heat too long.

First water at 19km, dip in the ocean at 22km (felt like a bath - we're spoiled in Sydney) and dragged my ass home over last 3km.  4:43's.

More treadmill crap

Saturday:  14km odd on the treadmill averaging 4:12's.  Always run too fast on the treadmill.  Just get bored and keep on trying to up the pace.  Ends up as grey running.

Sunday:  Could only survive 12km this morning before dying of boredom.  4:14's.  This sort of running doesn't suit my achilles.

Me and my dream car:

Diagon Alley was awesome:

Me and my dream van:

Hogsmeade:

Thursday

13km in Tarpon Springs in the am feeling crap.  Legs stiff and sore, dehydrated in the 95F heat.  Need to drink more and roll out.

Farewell NYC

Last run and back into Central Park (just too handy).  

Did 2.5 loops in the scheduled 1hr 45mins.  In the first km I had a bloke run past while training a girl he was trying too hard to impress.  They gained 20m so being a competitive twat I didn't let them get further ahead and then ran past on the big hill at the Harlem end.  This meant I was running 4:12's, which was a bit silly.  It was very warm (20+C at 6am).  

Continued on for 24.4km getting more and more tired and dehydrated.  Need some good sleep as I'm still slightly jet-lagged.

Kids in hotel room:

Maggie top of the Rock:

Bogan Mags buying a hot dog on the streets of NY at 10pm:

Tuesday same but different

Another shocking night's sleep but, due to the power of social media, I had arranged to meet TB at the Apple Store on the corner of Central Park at 6am.  But wet overnight so more humid this morning.  Great chat to Terence while running 13.2km around the Park nice and easy.

Top of the Rock:

Independence Day

Woke up after a fitfull jet-lagged sleep and did 13.8km around Central Park on a beautiful (Northern Hemisphere) summer's day.  Meaning it was green, lush and cool but warming up.  God I miss home sometimes.

Gold Coast 10km - 21st in 31:35

Well, everything went to plan for once.  Arrived last night (being put up, very kindly, by Jeet and Birchy in a fantastic ocean view apartment in Main Beach), got some food and an early night's sleep.  

Had been feeling great in training over the past 2 weeks and woke up feeling good again.  Achilles has been no concern and all the rolling out has done wonders to how I feel in the early am.  Jogged to the start, got intimidated in the (very plush) elite area seeing Australia's two greatest distant runners milling about (Mona and Benita Willis).  Got to the start area and only mistake was not to jump onto the start line straightaway.  Found myself 4 rows back.  But told myself it was a good thing as I'd be able to accelerate into the race.

I didn't wear a watch.  I told myself I was in good form and would either be scared by the pace of the splits or would stress they weren't quick enough.  So ran on feel just trying to hold on to packs of runners for as long as possible.  Chadi was leading a big group early on so tagged on the back of that.  A smaller group started to pull ahead so tagged in to them until 5km.  Knew things were going well when, looking for the 4km mark, I suddenly saw the 5km mark.  That's a free km in the bank!  Clock said 15:32 as I passed but I was falling off the group of 5.  But, like Gold Coast resident Big Kev before me, I was excited.

Best thing about this race is the strength and depth of field.  As soon as I dropped off I had runners catching and coming past me.  John Dutton came past at 5km and I got a km out of him. So I just jumped on the back of each one to drag me through just one more km (as I told myself).  Massive shout from Coach Gary at 8km which was a great lift and I was closing in on John again.  

The long straight before the final finish tunnel seemed to last forever (but at least not as bad as last year's marathon and I probably covered it in half the time), then I turn and hear the announcer saying something like "Jacob Cocks in 30:40" - does that mean he's sat down eating a b&e roll or has he just finished?!  I turn the corner and see 31:10 on the clock.  Fuck yeah!!  Sprint for the line and do some mad fist pumps and crazy arms aloft.  I think my fellow competitors are a bit bemused.  But I don't care.

So stoked.  Biggest jump in my PB ever. Thanks so much to Coach Gary.  And thanks so much to Birchy and Jeet for the hospitality and brekkie.  A perfect start to my holidays.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow in the Full and Half.  It's perfect up here.

Friday jog

25mins early doors along the beach with a few strides.

Thursday

Started the day by meeting Eljay and Elle for coffee to talk racing tactics for the weekend.  Eljay very kindly said that I was impressively erect.  She claimed to be talking about my running style but I'm not so sure.

At lunch joined the squad at Rushcutters but did 5min tempo followed by 4 x 30s before jogging back with Timmy.

Taper Wed

Very easy 7km bumping into Andy at the Opera House and finishing with a few hills.

Getting pumped about Saturday morning now..

ES Marks Runcrew

4km warm up in the inside of the track with Matt, Keith, Keith's brother Gerald, Hamish, Biggsy and Neil.  Then 3 x broken 1 miles as per 3 weeks ago - that is 1km hard, 300m jog, 300m hard with 4mins between each set.

Wore the flats this time with the achilles feeling stronger every day.  

Times went:

2:55, 51

2:52, 51

2:51, 52

Very happy and felt great.  As Gary pointed out, reps 2 and 3 are at a pace faster than my 1500m PB.

3km warm down for 12km all up.

Monday morning

1. Really enjoying the Manly Dam runs at the moment and hills.

2. Achilles feels better than ever.

So did another run up past Manly Vale Public School and back down the creek this am before adding the 4 x 80m hills up Suwarrow.  Felt great this morning.

Sunday

Too knackered to get out with the boys at 6am after having to stay up to pick up Bec.  Got out later and did another circular Manly Dam route, this time tackling the Northern Beaches longest hill - Warringah Rd up to Beacon Hill.  Quite tired at the end of 20km. 

Saturday hills

Missed Parkrun so ran hard up a hill instead.  Allambie Hill.  Then back around the dam for 13.5km all up.  Nice route.

Hurts Rushcutters

Over to Rushcutters but no Timmy cones.  And to be honest we were lost without them.  Come back Timmy, all is forgiven.  Some makeshift shirts were laid which moved after the first rep.  But anyway, session was 8 x 400m off 2:30, 3 min jog then 8 x 200m off 1:30.

Trailed Barts for the first four 400's then kicked into action and started pushing him a bit.  All were 65/66 on the watch but 67/68 pace in truth.  Then on the 200's I called for a different volunteer to pace each rep which made it interesting and distracted from getting through the set.  Averaged 30's on those (prob 31's in truth.

5km warm down for 13km all up.

Morning MLR

16km around Manly with Lewis and the Cap'n.  Sore after last night.  4:36's.

(Missed Monday)

Can't fail to put this down as it continues quite a good running streak....

14km with Enda, Timmy, Hoey and Co around the wharves to Barangaroo.

RunCrew Tuesday

AM:  7.5km around and about to the ferry wharf in 4:38's.

PM:  4.5km warm up.  2km TT in 5:56 pacing off Hamish and Keith.  Followed by 10 x 300m in 49, 50, 49, 48, 49, 49, 48, 48, 48, 48 (rolling 2mins).  Felt great tonight in the flats.  3km warm down.

Good to see Enda, Christian, LJ and Greta supporting Eloise in what looked like a monster session.

Picking up the car

Out with Kirst last night to a charity function at Balgowlah RSL. Both drank way too much so taxi'd it home, hence the run this afternoon.  Went via Allambie Hill and hit some serious puddles on the trail next to Wakehurst Parkway.

12km, feeling surprisingly good.

Claudie this morning watching Maggie's soccer:

Saturday long

Out early doors with Barts, Scott and Robin V for the usual route but with Barts keen on a fast finish. In fact, he was keen on a quickish start too.  I wasn't.  But just put my head down and ran.  Tired after yesterday's race.  When the boys picked up the pace I was hanging on. Did so for 4km then fell off at Dee Why and jogged home.

Bit of a GPS fail in not restarting my watch after a stop but I think it was 29km in 4:21's.

Mags and Charlie in Parkrun this morning.  New PB for Mags, good news before her Regional XC in Gosford on Friday:

City Mile Dash - 3rd in 4:32

I really didn't want to do this.  1.6km hurts more than a 10km or Half.  And I get more nervous for it as a result.  But I'd promised Timmy i'd turn up for his team (him, Crossy and Quentin - me replacing Durante from last year) so did so.

Jogged down with the winning girls, felt pretty good in the warm up, slapped my face a bit and then we were off.

First 400m - I can't believe how fast everyone can run. Seriously, I feel like I'm redlining it and I'm in 12th position. Ali Najeem is running a 27s 200m, Crossy and Q are well ahead and I'm thinking my days as a middle distance runner are gone.

Then get to 400m and everyone slows down. I start passing everyone and just think, rather than settle for this, why not push ahead.  And so at 800m i'm in the lead.  Turn the hairpin sheepishly, think "I could win this!" And start pushing on,  but feel a bit like a fox waiting for the hounds to pounce and sure enough at 400m to go Q and some kid come past and I can't go with them.  Q sustains the burst, the kid comes back but not enough for me to catch on the line.

Still, earned a pair of Mizunos thanks to Q, Crossy and Timmy.  11km for the day all up and a good hit out which will serve me well.

Thursday easy

...because of the frickin' City Mile Dash tomorrow which I'm really not keen on.  

10km easy up to and aroundCentennial. 

Wednesday Melbourne MLR

Usual route up the Yarra Trail turning at 8km.  Bloody cold again and almost killed by a cyclist on 2 occasions.

16km in 4:32's.  Few strides at the end.  Took Voltaren last night as Achilles was sore.

Tuesday Tan Session

In Melbourne.  Frickin freezing.  Did the whole session with my black thermal top on (which Timmy likes so much) and a beanie.

Jogged the 2km warm up to Morell Bridge then started the 4 x 8.5min Fartlek (30, 60, 90, 60, 30 - same recovery, 3mins between sets).  Unfortunately started the first fast section straight up the Anderson St hill which was to repeat on each of the 3 laps.  Session looks fairly easy but it's a dead leg killer.  Turned out to be exactly 3 laps of the Tan before the 2km jog back.

15.6km all up averaging 3:59's.

Queens Birthday Monday

Met up for a couple of beers Sunday night with Macca, Darren and the Cap'n and it turned into another really decent crowd.

So I didn't run Monday morning but got out later (after a great walk to "the Cascades" from Davison) for 13km in 4:25's followed by a couple of km jogging then strides with Maggie and Asha.

Then to Vivid in the evening with the family.  Knackered.

Long Sunday

Huge crowd for a variation on the usual route.  Barts, the Cap'n, Macca, Scotty, Ben, Dicky, Toby, Hamish and even Lewis joined us later on.  With Dicky there, the pace was always going to be honest and he picked it up to Sub4's over the final few km.  29.4km averaging 4:25's.

Parkrun

On Thursday Scotty O says he's doing Parkrun so I knew it would be honest today.  Decided to do a decent warm up (on instructions from Gary) and wear my flats as a result in the hope of sticking with him.

Turn up, no sign of Scott so decide to run in my trainers before he appears at the last moment.  Quick change into the flats and we're off.  Basically, I was toe to toe with Scott the whole way.  If I eased up he would come past and vice versa.  3:05 first km.  3:14 second km (I was hoping for 6:12 at 2km) so I think we're drifting away from a sub16.  Then we both attack the difficult 3rd km and I attack the hill resulting in a 3:18 and a 3:13.  Scott comes past at 4km and I feel I'm toast.  I go past again just before the bridge and see 14:04 so a sub16 is on the cards.  Scott goes past shortly after but knowing how quick his sprint is and my thoughts from last week about race wins not being handed on a plate I decide to give it a shot by sprinting early.  Get a gap and keep on pushing to the line to finish in 15:56.

Really chuffed with that and thanks to Scotty for making it such an honest race.

12km all up.

Friday

4-5km jogging around training Maggie and then to the wharf.

Thursday

Did the HuRTs session at lunch with a really good crowd.  Plenty up front with Barts, Scotty O, Quentin, Darren Moyle, Jerome, Hoey and the Sub4 man Holt Hardy having a hit out before the City Mile Dash next week. 

Session was 6 x 1km off a rolling 5mins and my legs were complaining from the off.  Just no zip.  I'd suggested tonBarts and Q that we share the lead but in honesty I was just tucking in and trying to hold on.  Reps went 2:59, 3:00, 3:01, then my turn and did my best to keep it honest resulting in a 2:57. Next rep I was cooked and dropping off before Barts shouted at me at 500m saying something along the lines of "Get back on Tommy!" so I did as told and ran a 2:56.  Then the last we all started to pickup the pace, I got ready to start sprinting with 200m before the big boys took off leaving me in their wake.  Still managed a 2:56 though.

Good solid session on tired legs. 14km all up.

MLR

Easy 17km with Darren (4:47's).  Tired after last night's efforts but the pace was easy.

Arrived home to find Maggot and Claudie fully decked out in running kit ready for their session.  Their enthusiasm can be explained by the fact I said we'd be doing hills, and that each time they beat the time I set for them, they would get a lolly (had to run by Woolies on my earlier run to pick up the favoured Starburst).

So Mags and I jogged to the BP Garage while Claudie rode her bike, then Maggie did 8 X 80m hills while Claudie managed 4.  Mags got 5 lollies and Claudie got 4. Plainly I need to be stricter on Claudia's target times (17s for Mags, 25s for Claudia). Then a jog back.  Mags looking good. Aiming for a sub 25min Parkrun on Sat.

Bit of Track

AM:  8km with the Cap'n in 4:56's.  Had to avoid the Shelley path of destruction.

PM:  ES Marks - 4 x 1km hard, 300m jog, 300m hard.  All off a rolling 8mins.

Kanser and Biggsy were there but doing 800's off 4mins.  Just Matt Hudson and Keith McPherson doing my set so I was bringing up the rear.  Did all the kms in 2:57 and all the 300's in 53 with a 52 to end.  So nice and consistent.  

13km all up.

Run home

Exactly that, very easy - 4:40's (70mins exactly via Boy Charlton) with some strides at the end.  Felt better (particularly achilles) at end than start.

Mental as Anything

SO Kirst and I were all fancy at a black tie charity event last night (check out the photo below) which turned out to have a FREE BAR so the chances of me making a 6.15am start were lower than nought.  Having said that, I woke at 5.50am feeling OK and temporarily thought of it before I heard the wind and rain and turned over under the duvet.

Got out at 2.30pm when the water was at it's highest point (coming around the front of the house) and I was a bit nervous it would be deluged by the time I returned.  Met Erika at Queenscliff where the wind was so strong I was blasted by sand.  We headed up to North Head picking up Q and Robbie along the way.  Watch in awe at the surf conditions between the Heads and along Manly Beach.  Quite simply the biggest I've ever seen in 16 years in Australia.

Got back after 27km to find the water levels having receded a bit.  Having said that, typing this at 9.15pm, it's back to the back gate.  Could be a long night as the police have already been around once and said next time they come it will be a mandatory evacuation.

Pace easy at 4:43's (2:07:24).

2pm, back to this level at 9pm:

Striders North Head - 3rd in 33:52

When I was 11 I won my first "big" road race.  It was the Chester-le-Street Minor Colts Road Race - 2 miles against all the kids from the running clubs in the North East.  I remember turning the final corner with about 400m to go, amazed that I was still in the running and thinking I might as well go for this just to prove to Dad I gave it my best shot.  I just sprinted for the line and ended up winning by about 5 seconds.  What it proved to me was that race wins (in competitive races) are never handed to you on a plate, you have to do something about it.

Today, I forgot all that.

Turned up this morning knowing it would be a competitive race with Quentin, Scotty and Robin all showing up, despite the forecast showing horrendous conditions.  Did a 3km warm up and said hello to Alex Rogers - another to throw into the mix.  Conditions seemed OK at that stage - damp but not too windy.  Set off and it was the usual suspects at the front plus one other chap that people on the sidelines were cheering on as "Rory". Turned out it was Ruiradh McDonald - super talented young fella.

I pushed the pace with Q in the first few km going through in 3:15, 3:16 and 3:12 and then the race turned ugly.  Just as we climbed the hill by the cafe a storm cell came through and turning on to the long straight we had a gale force headwind and torrential rain.  My lenses got soggy and I could barely see.  Poor Alex was in the lead and giving the rest of us a bit of a wind break. But the pace slowed dramatically such that we were all treading on each other's heels.

Through 5km in 16:42 (urgh) and we're all together but Robin puts a surge in and it looks as though we're breaking up a bit.  This was the theme for the next 3km - Robin would put a surge in, Ruiradh would immediately follow him, Scotty would go next and I would spend 200m bridging the gap, knowing I had to be in a group when we hit the wind at 8km or I was toast.

Get to the headwind at 8km and it's just me, Robin and Ruiradh.  Robin steps aside and waves his arm for us to take the lead.  I chuckle to myself and just tuck in behind him again.  Pace gradually picks up and I'm just biding my time without doing anything positive.  Then with 600m to go Robin jumps ahead with Ruiradh tracking him, they have the gap and I'm gone.  Trudge back up the hill for 3rd in 33:52.

Great running by Robin and unlucky to be pipped on the line but that kid has talent.  Everyone else was just happy to finish I think. Timmy was probably pick of the bunch only 80s behind Macca with a 38:05 performing pretty well in tough conditions.

Poor show from the Manly Hardcore disappearing off home without brekky.  It was left to the HuRTS Establishment to chow down a Deluxe B&E Roll in Manly's finest breakfast establishment.  Timmy couldn't resist the coffee there ordering 3!

So form is coming back but plenty more work to do. Great just to be out there racing again though.

Brissy

10km through the Bot Gardens and along the river.  Nice and easy and included a few strides.  Legs were sore before the the shakeout did the world of good.

Perth easy score

Wide awake at 5.30am (still on Sydney time) and first meeting wasn't until 8.30am so I headed out on my usual 20km route.  Pitch black until half way and then a beautiful sunrise (deep red in the morning over here as the desert's in the East) to bring me back home.  Unfortunately I had a pretty strong tail wind on the way out (thought it felt easy) so had to put my head down on the return.

Legs a bit sore by the end and I was hunting out every bit of grass I could find.  But not surprising as it's 40km in less than 24 hours since stepping off the plane.

4:36's.

My little Maggot!

Apologies for the super proud Dad post (I had to resist posting anything on Facebook given my reaction when others do the same) but was so chuffed for Maggie finishing 3rd in the District Cross Country this morning.  On to Regionals and if she can get through that, to State.  Once again came through the field after being in about 11th or 12th at half way and beaten by 2 much bigger girls.  Kirst said she had gritted teeth in the home straight so I think she's got the attitude for this.

So I arrived in Perth to this news and set out with renewed enthusiasm.  Decided on Gary's 79 continuous - 15mins warm up, 22mins Fartlek (1min, 2min, 3min, 4min, 3min, 2min, 1min off 1 min float), 5mins jog, 22mins tempo, 15mins warm down.  Along the perfect Perth footpath past Nedlands to Dalkeith.  Session went well.  Fartlek's average 3:29 pace (but realised I had a slight tailwind when I turned) and the Tempo also averaged 3:29's, working a bit harder into the wind.  So not quite the 3:26's I got to last year but getting there and overall felt OK at the end (20.3km all up in 3:54's).

Now will slink into a bar in Perth CBD to watch the Origin.  All by myself.  But happy due to kid no.4.

Tuesday cop out

AM:  8km to Shelley and back with Ben and the Cap'n.  Nice and easy chatting about bollocks.

Lunch:  Headed out to the HuRTs session just as a torrential downpour started in the freezing temps we're suddenly suffering.  Took shelter, felt cold, legs were still sore from Sunday, had a meeting at 2pm so made the rare (if not first time ever?) decision to ditch the session and head back to the office.

Still feel guilty about it 24 hours later.  No doubt I'll punish myself tomorrow as a result.

Long sore Monday

Holy crap.  Quads smashed after that downhill running to Jenolan Caves yesterday.  

Ran to work via North Head.  No watch, about 26-27km I think.  Legs buggered.  But achilles starting to feel better after all the plantar rolling.

A few photos from Kanangra Walls yesterday.  Magic spot.

Jenolan Caves

So I left Caves House this morning thinking, there's no way I'm heading up that bloody Caves Rd hill back towards Katoomba.  I've been down it and it's a killer.  So let's head the other way towards Oberon...

I swear it's 4km straight up the steepest hill I've ever run.  Eventually turned after 8km and running past a sign saying "Great Dividing Range - 1365m above sea level".  So 615m of vertical climb.  

Came back pretty quick though.

16km in 4:53's.

Fitting it in

Another solid day at work so missed the opportunity to join the squad for MC's last session.

Only option was to run home post work.  Have been feeling great this week (other than the achilles) and full of running so decided to run home solidly at sub 4's, knowing that's tough because of all the hills.  Did a 4km warm up around Mrs Macs then did the usual route but along the Cahill Expressway to avoid the stairs in the Rocks and then around Anderson Park to make up 20km.

Basically ran the flats and downs in a comfortable rhythm but had to work the hills (of which there are plenty) to keep the pace on track.  Due to the warm up I was always well behind averaging sub4 until I got to Balgowlah and could open up a bit.  

Really is a solid run and puts a load of strength in your legs.  All up 20km in 1:19:02 (3:57's).  No chicks overtook me today.

Make hay

In Melbourne again.  Headed out around the Tan with a couple of my Melbourne partners (they're fitter than my Sydney partners given we were running 4:20's).  Then headed out along the Yarra Trail to add some kms and was feeling so good (thank you Mr Voltaren) that I just kept on running.  Ended up running 21kms at about 4:22's.

Shock of the day occurred when running along the Yarra at a decent enough clip (km split had just shown 4:17) when I hear footsteps behind me.  Sure enough, 400m later someone overtakes me.  And it's a girl!  Or I should say woman.  Running 4:00's as a training run.  She looked pretty handy.  I need to get on Strava to see who it was but unfortunately my watch battery died.

Melbourne - 80 continuous

Supposed to double today but:

(a) in Melbourne; and

(b) achilles is too sore.

So I just did Thursday's session instead - 80 continuous.  Consists of 20min jog, 20min Fartlek (2min on, 1min off), 5min jog, 20min tempo then 15min warm down jog.  Quite a bit by the end (20.2km so 3:57 average) with the tempo averaging 3:27's.  Happy with that as I felt in control the whole way through.  If only my bloody achilles would improve I'd be starting to feel more confident.

Doing all the 1%'ers on the heel now in an attempt to nip this in the bud.

Monday meander

16.4km around the wharves with a decent sized crew including Eoin, Kanser,  Renee, Jerome, Hoey et al.  Achilles sore.

4:34's.

Sunday long relatively

2 weeks before London 28km felt like a day off.  Today I was just tired and sore.

Great crowd though with Barts, Lewis, Heydo, Erika, Emma, Hamish, Toby and Macca.  4:38's.  Lewis said it was his slowest ever long run.  That fella hasn't lived.

Enjoyed watching the Highgate Night of 10000m on internet (UK Olympic qualifiers).  Tom Bedford knows how to put on a track meet.  Beer tent on the back straight is ingenious.  

Another high quality 10km was on the same day - the Great Manchester Run.  Great to see my favourite ever female runner Tirunesh Dibaba taking the win in 31:16.  Good form for a final Olympic appearance to cement her reputation as the GOAT.  In the men's, Dave McNeil had a great run to get on the podium with 2 legends.  He'll no doubt cherish this photo:

Saturday Parkrun

Jogged there with 30s to spare.  Enough time to say hello to Pete W, Heydo and Marc A.  Ran off with purpose.  Quickly felt shit.  Had a kid on my shoulder for 1.5km (Bryn - last week's winner) then finally shifted him.  3:11, 3:16, 3:24, 3:24, 3:19 for 16:35 all up.  About the slowest I could have predicted so pretty disappointed given I worked pretty hard for it.

Body is just sore at the moment and everything is a struggle.  I think I'll ditch Launnie and trying to push when I'm not ready.  Instead, just build consistency and confidence.

5km warm down with the ever cheerful Heydo.

Thursday double

AM:  8km to Shelley and back on yet another picture perfect morning.  What is with the weather at the moment?  Too good to be true.

Lunch:  8x800m at Rushcutters with the old timers.  Mikey led the session and did it with aplomb, encouraging everyone over the line.  Barts, Enda, Muz, LJ, Mr Selfie and numerous other old-timers out in force.  The only man missing was Timmy, who was at home deliberating on what shirt to wear tonight.  I'll post his ill-decision later.  Good session run with Barts upfront and Nick R just behind with Hoey floating around all over the place.  Off a rolling 4mins I ran:

2:27, 2:29, 2:28, 2:28, 2:29, 2:28, 2:26, 2:19

Last one chasing Hoey home only to have my boyfriend Jerome come floating by looking like Rudisha.

5km warm down for 14km all up.

Wednesday MLR

Big crowd for a Wednesday MLR meeting Hoey, 2 Brendans, Pete W, Champ, Charlie and others AND supposedly Kanser, but after 5 minutes of waiting we were off.

Nice easy run up the old route to Centennial, then of course met Kanser at Fox Studio Gates so did another lap with him and Renee.  All up 16.8km in about 80mins.

Big news in the Highnam household today was Maggie winning her school x-country and taking down Octavia in the process.  She was in 4th after the first lap and managed to overhaul the top 3 for the win.  Very proud.  Charlie also did really well coming 8th (2nd reserve for District) running against boys a year older.

HuRTS 4x1km, 4x500m

Too many kids duties this morning so went out at lunch and managed to persuade Timmy to change the HuRTS session to my scheduled session.  Really big crowd (holding it down at Barangaroo helps) and with Crossy, Nick R and the bearded chap to chase there was plenty of support upfront.

Went out hard as I was keen to test myself for the first time since London.  Crossy did the same thing and I only inched ahead in the final 100m.  Similar story for rep 2 where I had to work bloody hard to get past him.  Rep 3 and he slowed as did my time as the legs were getting lactic.  Managed to hold it together for rep 4.  Times went:

2:56, 2:54, 3:00, 2:59.

All off a rolling 5mins.  That's very quick and I wonder about the accuracy of the distance.  But all the GPS watches had it on the km and we weren't running in circles.

Then the 500m reps off a rolling 3mins.  I struggled on the first to turn the legs over with Crossy gapping me quite a bit (having sat out of the final km rep).  Better on the second rep finishing well.  Struggled on 3rd then same again running solo on the last.  Times were:

1:30, 1:26, 1:30, 1:25

My legs are now absolutely buggered.  I gave it all today and have been pretty rooted all afternoon.

Great to see Andy back in the thick of things and there's a few fresh faces who are starting to get pretty quick.

4km warmdown with Macca for 13.5km all up.

Monday run home

Had 40mins on the program.  Intended to run home for 40mins (too busy at work to get out) then catch a cab but there were no cabs at 40mins as I was on Parriwi Rd and then they were all going the wrong direction.  So just ran home all the way.  Pace very easy (4:43's).

Bloody annoying that the Passmore/Nolans Bridge is out of action, that added an extra 500m.

SMH Half

83:23.

Ran with Timmy.  Aimed for 38:30, 39:30 10km splits.  Always hard with the Garmin measuring short.  We did 38:50 then 40:15.  Managed to get a good group together between 10km and 15km.  Timmy struggled up the hills but made good ground on the downs.  To be honest, he held on better than I thought for a 1:25 positive split on a tough course with the hills back ended.  Great to run with Champ and some other appreciative blokes too.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

28km all up.  Good weekend's training.

Hoey had a fab run upfront and seeing him made me want to race again.

Saturday Hilly Hour to Clontarf

Took Billy to Turamurra for his morning soccer game and as such drive up Allambie Hill.  Decided it was time I ran it again.  4km straight up hill.  Kirst was meeting friends at Clontarf beach so worked out perfectly. 

Felt great - seem to be going through one good day, one bad day at the moment.  14.6km in 4:16's with plenty of hills in there.

Friday meander

10km with Jimmy at lunchtime talking crap.  Legs sore.  Decided to pace Timmy at SMH Half on Sunday so entered today.

Now watching Billy play soccer (Barker v Knox so a grudge match).  Found a nice cafe in Turramurra..

HuRTS 400's and tempo

So the comeback slog continues.  7x400m plus 3km tempo today and I was scared.  Small but select crew including Barts, Timmy, Birchy, Jerome, Jeet, Darren M, JFen and co.  400's started at 71's and finished at 68's.  Tempo was easier at 3:37's.

Done and dusted. 13km for the day after a longer warm down.

Legs tired.  Amazing how the legs soften with 3 weeks off.

MLR at steady pace

I've decided that "Steady" means being aware of your Strava split times while not going balls out.

Fancied a run around Centennial today (having slept through my alarm this morning) and after Timmy turned me down due to "work commitments" (later to be seen on Facebook canoodling with the boys taking selfies in the ABC Pool) I decided to go solo.  Always run a bit quicker going solo, mainly because I get bored and want to get it over and done with.  That logic doesn't quite work when the session is "75 mins" but there you go.

Nice run. Long time since I've been in Centennial and enjoyed it on a beautiful day.  18.1km in 75:00 (4:09's).

Toying whether to run SMH Half, only because today felt quite good and I need to start racing again at some stage.  Asked for a late entry but no response yet so decision may be out of my hands.

A session!

6 x 800m (rolling 4 mins) along the seafront from North Steyne with Lewis, Quentin, Darren and Skins.  Holy crap, had forgotten how hard speedwork is and how quickly you lose it.  Was way behind Lewis.  Gradually crept closer to Quentin each rep (about 2:37's I think) until the final 2 when I finally got some zip back, finishing with a 2:30.

Long warm down for 13km all up.

Monday easy

Out with the HuRT Squad around the City, chatting to Kanser, Elle, Renee and Co.  13km in an hour I think. 

Longish Sunday

First longish run in 4 weeks.  Managed to get out in the arvo and fortunately Erika was also keen.  So did 105 minutes with her.

You name me one Indian distance runner.  In history.  It's not possible, despite the world's second largest population.  I now know why.  It's impossible to do an effective long run after a vindaloo.

Sat Parkrun with kids

So Parkrun was Maggie and Charlie's long run.  I ran with them for 200m, realised no one was running away out the front so decided to push ahead to the front.  Felt pretty comfortable running 17:20, just for the win.  Then jogged back to the 4km mark and saw a battle Royale between Charlie and Maggie, the former making a late charge but Maggie seeing him at the last minute and doing just enough to hold him off.

5km warm down for 10km all up.

Then out to the Troubador, Ashiana's and the Steyne with a huge Manly HuRTS crowd for evening curry.

Maggie and the Cap'n

I found this note on Maggie's bedroom floor yesterday:

Those in Facebook will have seen it.  So felt compelled to take her training this morning.  We did a 1km warm up, then 6x Mackellar hills concentrating on lifting the knees and powering up.  Basically, fast track strength training.  Then a 1km warm down.  She was motivated by the sight of another 8yr old girl doing sprints with her Dad on Nolans while on our warm up.

Then did an extra 8km bumping into the Cap'n near Shelley Beach and finishing off with him.  Another beautiful morning.  About 11km all up.

The important things in life

Well, that was disappointing.  After feeling  everything was coming together, I came down with a fever on the Friday before London, which turned to a bad cold and then sinusitis.  Still on the heavy duty antibiotics now.  Wasn't going to stop me watching Barts, Macca and Sammy though and doing so made me vow to come back.  The crowd support was huge and the atmosphere electric.  Barts did us all proud with a fantastic run in 2:29:18.  He approached it perfectly in a very controlled fashion.  The man accused of a heart of flint even shed a tear at the end, as did I.

12 days off and, despite still being bunged up and blowing stuff out of my nose that scares the kids, I ventured out this morning for an easy 10km.  Beautiful morning along Manly Beach and I just soaked it up enjoying what I've been missing out on. 

Was very upset about missing London after 6 months injury and sickness free but in the end there's always another race and the real reason I do it is morning s like these and the camaraderie I enjoyed with Barts, Macca and Sammy in London.

Black bogeys

After 5 days in London I've fallen foul to the London black bogey syndrome.

Last proper run yesterday was 41mins continuous - 15min warm up plod to Southwark Park (when I'm tapering for a big race I seem to be unable to run quicker than 5min kms) then 6 x 1min on, 1 mins off around the park and then plodded back.  One other runner in Southwark Park as I was darting around - Scott Overall (top British marathoner and no doubt running on Sunday).

All set now, just have to mentally prepare myself.

Caught up with Barts in the evening and the poor fella's a bundle of nerves.  But he's in good shape.

South Bank Saunter

Just an easy 8km over Tower Bridge and along the South Bank before breakfast.  Not sure I managed to get under 5min kms.  Breakfast consisted of a bacon & egg brioche roll, croissant filled with chopped banana and flat white all from Pret a Manger.  Which is conveniently at the bottom of my serviced apartment building.  Best. Breakfast. Ever.

Leg stretcher

Just 10km but included 5 x 3min strides. Finally feeling as though the legs are going well again after nearly a week of jet-lag.

Monday Bow Bells

Early morning jog to Victoria Park, run around and back.  Impressed myself by getting there without getting lost.  Even more impressed by Victoria Park and the surrounding canals. A beaut of a morning if fecking freezing.

14km in 4:40's.

Sunday in London

Arrived in London on Saturday and had a rest day as I met the extended family for lunch with a couple of beers.

So Sunday was the 5km tempo.  Jogged to Southwark park (along the route for next week - eek!) then got into it.  Well the legs are still jet lagged and buggered.  I thought I was running 3:15's.  First km split was 3:27.  Then the next was 3:30.  WTF?!  Then suddenly it seemed to come together - 3:20, 3:21 and 3:05.  Thank god.

3km jog back along the marathon route getting excited.

Last day in Berlin

Friday was 14km in Berlin, finally finding a decent route through the gardens and along the river.  98% of the run was fantastic, but then I failed to outrun a massive storm (hail and all) and got drenched in the final 2 minutes.  

14km in the hour.

Tiergarten session

Out at 7.30am and it's freezing and raining.  This is why I don't live in Europe anymore.  You can go and stick your fancy buildings and ancient culture up your ass.

3km warm up finding a route around the Tiergarten and then into the 3km tempo. Gary said keep it controlled and don't overdo it.  I ran 3:25's and honestly don't think my jet lagged legs could have gone any quicker.

Then a short rest and into the 10 x 400m.  Again, controlled but would have hated to have had to push any harder.  They were done at about 74/75 pace.

14.25km all up. 

Berlin jet lagged rust buster

After a 29 hour journey due to delayed flights, I finally arrived in Berlin.  Definitely still grittier than the rest of Germany that I've seen but more interesting as a result.

Had a meeting straightaway then headed out to stretch the legs.  The hotel is right next to the Tiergartens so I just ran around them, getting lost every now and then.  Planned on an hour but let's just say that running is the best cure for jet-lag constipation.  10km all up in 4:34's with the legs feeling like cactus.

Tuesday Half HuRTS

Couldn't get out in the am, found a gap at lunch before my flight so went down to HuRTS where the session was 4 x 10mins.  Certainly wasn't going to do that so settled on half the session.  After much toing and froing on the route we settled on the original and were off.  With me only doing half the session I was out ahead solo.  Reached the gates in 9:40.  On the return I was soon running with Andy who pushed the pace on.  I then had the whole squad to overtake and hey all seemed to appear on the hills.  Ended up with 9:36 - a PB for me over that much run segment.  But who the hell is Michael Bath?

Short jog after and that was me done.

Monday morning

10.3km very easy with Lewis at 6am.  Much cooler this morning - Autumn has arrived.  But stunning along the beachfront.  4:37's.  Amazed by a woman doing a complex yoga position on the beach.  It was quite something.

Last long(ish) Sunday

Out with Barts, Lewis and Ben at 6.15am (no early morning extras today thank God) but picking up Emma, Tim and Toby along the way.  Just the standard route and cutting across the Narrabeen Caravan Park which made it mentally much easier at 27.5km than the recent 38km monsters.  But it's still 2 hours of running.  

Beautiful morning chatting the whole way and Barts and I shook each other's hand at the end remarking that our work was done.  Obviously forgetting Tuesday's double session and sprints on Thursday. 

Then cycled to Queensie for a dip before retiring to Emporio to pore over the results from Canberra.  A brilliant run from Hoey to take 2nd just behind Rowan Walker in 2:29:15.  He really has a knack for the marathon.  Other great runs included Jeet's PB in high 78 in the half - he's running PBs every race at the moment.  CT battled for the lead inthe half before having to settle for 3rd.  Craig sounded a bit disappointed with his 5th place in the 50km.  I think he suits (and copes very well with) a higher mileage than he's been doing of late.  Looked like a great weekend and I'll try to get down there next year.

Broken 5km plus Fartlek

Was supposed to be done at Parkrun but with 5 kids sports commitments starting at 7.30am that was never feasible.

Session was 2km hard, 1km easy, 2km hard.  Then a brief recovery before 10 x 1min on, 1min off.

Did a 2km jog to the golf course loop then started running clockwise (interestingly, nearly all Strava records are measured anti-clockwise) for the first 2km hard.  Times went 3:10 then 3:11.  Jog was a 4:05 before doing 3:06 and 3;09 for the second 2km.  Stoked with the times as I was expecting the 2nd 2km to be slower given I didn't feel brilliant to start with.

Then an 800m jog before starting the Fartlek. Wanted to run these controlled and did so but was stoked to see I was doing kms in 3:38's including the easy sections. 

Probably my most encouraging session of the year so confidence is high.  One more session on Tuesday before I fly out.

15km all up averaging 3:51's.  

Best of luck to Hoey and Vonky in the marathon in Canberra tomorrow.  Would love to see Hoey take out some big names.  And especially to Craig in the 50km'er.  He knows what he needs to do.