HuRTS Hickson Road

Was dreading this session as my legs still felt tired after the last couple of days and this is not the session to go into feeling anything less than on top form. No Tucks or Charlie (absent since SMH Half) but Serg, Durante, Ray, Kanser, the Judge, Muz, MC, KMK, RMR, Tim's L and C, Mat K and Rich M among others all showed up making it a good crowd.

Reps went as follows:

3:35; 3:28; 3:32; 3:25; 3:30

Legs felt tired all the way through so pleased to still keep the times consistent. I'd feel OK for the first 200m, struggle in the middle part of each rep (dropping off whoever I was running with) then would feel stronger in the final 300m and make up some ground. Ran reps 1 and 2 just behind Serg. On rep 3 he and Ray (finally making some effort in these HuRTS sessions) set off like hares and were a good 50m ahead at half way before slowing in the second half. Durante came up to my shoulder on that rep. Rep 4 Serg and I started 7 seconds behind the main group and found it easier chasing people hence the good time. Rep 5 I ran with Muz who dropped me at the bridge before I caught him again in the final 50m. Durante, KMK and the Judge ran a blinder way out front.

Pleased with being able to cope with the speed session after yesterday's long one. I'll repeat this format in the weeks up to Gold Coast. Have now booked flights and accommodation so it's all on and I'm getting excited about it. This race, City to Surf and JPMorgan NYC are the races I'll be tapering for in the near future.

Will be interesting to see how Durante and KMK fare against each other on Sunday. Durante should have him easy based on training sessions but it's amazing what a little confidence can do.

Added a photo of me and Mags at the weekend for the family, showing how much she's grown up recently...

Longer Wednesday

AM: Run into work after dropping off Billy. Added the usual 3 marathon pace stretches which felt good although I struggled over the bridge after really putting an effort in up Parriwi. 24:04 at Spit Junction and 53:05 all up (quick).

Lunchtime: Very easy 10km around the Botanical Gardens and Opera House to OPT and back, running with MC for the second half. 43:52. Bumped into quite a few running Corporate Cup, including Pete Truscott and Inhisshadow (plainly as keen to keep fit after becoming a father as I was), Springer and the Judge.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Not quite as big a crowd as last time we did this but still a good showing including Tucks, Serg, Muz, Ray, Kanser, Tim C, MC, Enda, Mat Kaley and with Fats joining after 5 mins. Felt comfortable from the word go today - probably as a result of taking Sunday off. I'll remember that in tapering for Gold Coast Half. Pushed the pace so so that by the Sebel it was down to Fats, Serg, Tucks and myself and then at the turnaround it was just Tucks and I - Serg suffering after a big run on Sunday. Turned at the end of the Hickson Road rep - so further than last time. Picked up Serg on the way back and the three of us just pushed on through to the end. Tucks said he clocked 10km on the Garmin at 33:49 and we finished at the final lamp post just short of the stone gates for 13.25km in the 45mins (3:23 per km).

Good session. Bit of a pick me up after the weekend but need to convert these sort of sessions into races.

Post script

When we were away in the Blue Mountains this weekend we came back to find a possum had built a home in the bookcase in our kitchen. We only discovered this this morning when all the fruit in our fruit bowl was half eaten. At first we blamed Charlie until Billy actually spotted the possum. Kirst tried and failed to eject him all day so it was left to me when I got home. Finally managed it (and have blocked the catflat which he entered by) after taking a few photos. Here are a couple. The elder two kids thought he was fantastic, but Charlie was completely freaked out by him. In fact, you now only need to say the word "possum" and he bursts into tears.

Bilpin Monday

1 hour around Bilpin on a cool misty morning. Beautiful running weather.

Striders 10km - North Head - 10th in 33:00

Well, it was all set up but I was just a bit mentally weak. Had a telling conversation with Serg afterwards where he said he got to 7km and thought; "it's just a 3km rep from here". I got to 7km and thought; "if I just hold this pace I shouldn't be in too much pain".



Set off sensibly with Tucks. I didn't wear a watch and heard only one split - 1st km in 3:10 which was good. I just ran with Tucks and one other chap for the first 4km - Serg having gone off quick with the large front group and having dropped off the back. Then between 4 and 5km up the hill Tucks dropped me and closed in on Serg. From then on I was by myself. I found I was running quick at times but obviously losing concentration and dropping further off the pace at others. I finised with a quick last km but without a clock at the end I had no idea what time I had run. To discover I missed out on a 32:xx was disappointing - I'd have done it if I had a watch on. Most disappointing thing though was not being able to push myself into the pain zone - finished feeling as though I hadn't given 100% which I hate.



Lessons learnt were:



(a) wear a watch - always seem to end up by myself and the watch is the only way to keep things honest in those circumstances;
(b) need to introduce more tempo runs. Interval work is great but tempo runs teach you how to endure pain;
(c) start working my Wednesday run more, either through marathon pace work or length or both. I feel as though I'm wasting it at the moment.

Some great runs by the HuRT squad. Particular mentions to Kanser on his 34:15 pb - a great run meticulously planned and perfectly executed. Great to set a target and see it through. I knew he was on for a big one based on his pre-race nerves. KMK had a great first ever 10km in running 34:07 and Mat Kaley ran 33:50 - a 70s improvement from Lane Cove. Serg showed great bottle to fight back from being dropped by Tucks at 6km.

Easy Friday

9km at 4:40 pace around the Botanical Gardens with Muz, Serg, Durante and Ray. All set for tomorrow but a shame that Robbie won't be there. Serg can hardly contain himself - he had to have an ice bath last night to calm himself down. Conversation went a bit quiet when he explained that it was his Dad who added the ice......

Big showdown set for Kanser and the Tiger. I've got money on Kanser so I don't want any mental weakness. Hopefully Uncle Dave will be pacing him to a low 34 time which I think will secure my money even if the Tiger decides to make an effort. Fingers crossed for MC. If you're reading this mate, my advice would be to ditch the watch and just race it. There will be plenty in the 34 bracket. RMR is a shoe-in for a 36:XX.

Minimos Training and HuRTS Gate to Gate

Early in the morning 3 laps of Campbell Parade (2km) with Bec after promising I'd take her training for Minimos. 11:16 - she ran all the way and finished with a good sprint.

7 x 909m off 2 minutes at lunchtime with HuRT Squad. Had a few too many beers last night so my legs felt pretty lethargic but still managed to bang out some quick ones. Reps went:

2:51; 2:56; 2:38; 2:54; 2:39; 2:51; 2:39

The 5th and 7th were run starting easier and pushing the second half, so pleased with the times considering it wasn't flat out all the way. Feeling pretty confident about Saturday but Serg has now progressed too much - he was flying today with a last rep in 2:32.

HuRTS 5min reps

8 x 5mins off 90 seconds. Good crowd despite the wet conditions. Ideal in fact, as it kept the tourists at bay. Ran the first couple with Durante, Muz, Tucks and Serg (the Judge joined in on rep 3) then the next 5 Serg and I pushed ahead and on the final rep Serg blasted it from the start leaving me trailing in his wake. Each rep was faster than the previous one. The first averaged 3:25 and the final 3 were under 3:10. Felt great today. Now just to take it easy for the rest of the week as Saturday's race should be a cracker. Chris Truscott is running which should mean he and Serg will set off like kids at a school fete, leaving Tucks and I to mop up the pieces in the final 2km. It's all so predictable.

Will be interesting to see how the rest of the squad perform. Kanser was strong on Sunday and was looking good on rep 6 today but then cut short (again) so whether he gets close to his PB will depend on how the speed endurance is. I'm predicting a final KM showdown with the Tiger. MC is back on form and just needs to run a sensible but committed race. Would be good to see RMR get under 6 minute miles.

East Monday

Caught up with Serg, Durante, Kanser, Muz, MC and Ray and ran around the shore to KPMG building and back (basically the 45 mins fartlek route). 14.5km averaging about 4:30s. Very wet. Plenty of conversation about Saturday's relays - results of which are attached here. If these are verified it'll be one of my best runs, beating Dave Criniti, Michael Harrison, Chadi, Robbie, Paul Arthur and Nick Bennett and within 5 seconds of Glenn, Jeremey Horne, Robin Whiteley, Barry Keem and Nick Cope.

Trying to work out how to attach the results... https://www.clubsonline.com.au/console/customitem/attachments/Results

Long Sunday with the boys

Kanser, Springer, Tim L, Durante and the Tiger came over for the same run as last week. 28km 2:09:25. Nice easy pace chatting all the way. Tucked into a fried breakfast afterwards. Good days.

ANSW State Relays

Arrived expecting to run second leg for the A team but found Glenn talking to Robbie on the phone who had been held up. So a quick shift of placings had me running first, Jeremey second, Glenn third and Robbie (when he arrived) last. I was pleased with this as I'd far prefer to run a race than a time trial.

The start of the race was like running x-country as a 10 year old. Up came the elbows and the first 200m was a mad sprint. Settled into quite a quick pace - had no idea how to pace myself for this so the intention was to go out hard and try to hold on. Didn't recognise anyone around me but by the second lap I could hear people barracking for Serg behind me. Started to struggle up the hill in the far field and was waiting for Serg to surge by. He did so just before the 3km mark with another bloke (who turned out to be Earl O'Brien). I latched on to them but struggled up the hill to the top of the course. Serg established about a 4 second lead which he maintained to the finish - just failing to catch Shannon Delaney.

So generally pleased - the time was good (about 12.32 - 32 seconds quicker than last year) but slightly disappointed not to have been able to hold onto Serg up the hill. Typical given recent training that I should finish one place behind him (9th to his 8th).

Not idea of any other times yet, although Durante said he ran 12:53 which is great running for a time trial. Great crowd in attendance - all the top names in NSW. Striders came 5th.

Easy Friday

Met up with Springer, Muz and Ray and ran a very easy 10km around the gardens and to Hickson Road and back. 48:23.

HuRTS 12 x 400m

Smaller crowd than Tuesday (always the same for the speed sessions) which included Ray, Tucks, Durante, MC, Kanser, The Judge, Tim C, Tim L, RMR, Mathew Kaley (still trying to think of a nickname) and Stephen.

They've marked out a new track around the oval which made it a lot easier to follow your line but added a few metres to the distance - we reckon it was 415m (or what we were previously doing was 385m). Ran most from the front with Durante on my shoulder threatening to come by. He did so on rep 7 , rep 11 and, of course, the final rep but pleasingly was "out-cowboyed" by The Judge who had plainly been taking it easy before then. Reps went as follows:

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

Tough today - really pushed them so saying the track is two seconds longer is an honest assessment. MC and Kanser thought the same. Pleased to stay in front of Durante for most of them and he must have been trying hard as he didn't put up a fight against the Judge on the final rep.

My legs are still wobbling now an hour after we finished.

Getting a bit worried about Saturday relays as I'm provisionally in the A team. Trying to persuade Glenn to put me back where I belong, first leg of B team so I get dragged around to a fast time.

Medium Long Wednesday

18.5km around Centennial twice but coming back the long way around Garden Island. Easy pace (1:21:38 so averaging 4:24s) but felt pretty tired up the steps towards the end, probably as a result of yesterday's session and 75kms in 4 days. Ran the whole way with Serg and the first half with Kanser, MC, Eamonn and Tim C. Lots of chat going on. At times, I think there were 6 conversations going on at once.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

Huge bunch today with all the usual suspects although missing Tucks and Charlie. Set off with Serg, Fats, Durante, the Judge and Tim C - Serg (hot off his 32:33 10km at the weekend) and Fats in particular keeping the pace very quick. We reached the stone gates with 10 seconds to spare so about 2.95km in the 10 minutes. This turned out to be the hardest rep. The return 2.95km was done in 9:31, ran with Serg with Tony dropping off towards the end. The third rep started easier before Serg and I pushed ahead and reached about 10 yards short of the first rep. We were then sensible on the last rep and didn't race it, returning in a steady 9:33.

Another good session under the belt, but buggered now. Great day for running again, no wind and cool. Good to see a large bunch finishing the session, including Kanser, MC andurante.

Easy recovery

13km run to work after dropping Billy off at Redlands House. 25:31 at Spit Junction and 56:21 all up. Felt very tired to begin with - yesterday's run obviously took more out of me than I felt at the time. Eased into it from Spit Junction onwards. Time not too slow though, just felt heavy legged. Another perfect day for running.

Long Sunday run

Same route as 2 weeks ago. 28km in 2:01:09. A beautiful day for running - cool, still and crystal clear. Went out at 2pm and felt much more comfortable than running at 6am, which is why it was so much quicker than last time. 71:11 at the stone arch after 4:06 and 4:02 for the final 2kms of the North Head route.

Short tempo

Not much time available today so short tempo run to end of Darling Point and back, my old route. Kings Cross short cut still blocked off so slightly longer than of old heading up Macleay St before going down to Rushcutters. 8km in 28:23. Felt great today, very bouncy although back of right knee was a bit stiff.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Good crowd as usual for this popular session. Set off quick (although with quite a headwind going around Farm Cove) with Serg and Fats just behind. Made sure the floats were honest so that 3 mins was just before the gates and the first 60 was 10m short of the hill beside the Boy Charlton. Fats dropped off on the second 90 leaving Serg and I to push on beyond the Stone Gates (reached those with 10 seconds of float remaining). Serg was strong all the way today, thought he might drop off on the 30s and he threatened to coming down the hill to Farm Cove but then pushed on again and really put the foot down on the last one to drop me by about 10m.

All up 6.05km so pretty pleased to be averaging under 3:20s including the recoveries and bearing in mind the wind.

Tucks and Kanser were being sensible and still taking it easy following the SMH Half. Fats was complaining of fatigue early on which wasn't surprising given how quick he was going on Tuesday. Serg's confidence is back.

Medium Long Wednesday

18.5km around Centennial and then Farm Cove and Opera House with Serg, MC, Muz, Durante and Springer. 1:20:41. Nice and easy although it got a little quicker towards the end. Followed up with an Easy Tiger massage, which was more painful.

Can tell that Serg is going to up the ante at Mona Fartlek tomorrow and that Fats won't be able to resist challenging him. I'll try and hang on.