Sean's Squad

Headed over to Centennial Park for 4 x 2km off a rolling 9 minutes. Plenty of guys there I knew including CT, Big Mikey H, Dimitry, Ben, Jim Dawes, Tom Crasti etc. Quite a long warm up then banged out the reps as follows:
6:45
6:46
6:50
6:48
So pretty consistent but it didn't feel that way as most others were running the reps progressively 10s faster each time. Quite a few only did 3 (including CT, Dimitry and Hollie Emery, who smashed me on reps 2 and 3). Still, it's another quality session in the bank. Jim Dawes is going well, as is Big Mikey H who was ahead of Crasti for 3 of them. Harry and Ben were way out front.

3km warm down for about 15km all up. Beautiful day and enjoyable out there.

Easing up

Scheduled run was 6km easy with the 90% strides so turned up for Mona Fartlek with the HuRT Squad and hung around the back until the final five 30s efforts where I sprinted for 15s then eased up. All worked out pretty well. Right thigh still sore but saw Carl this morning and he identified the relevant muscle and gave me a stretch for it.

Looking forward to my first rest in 8 days tomorrow.

A Novelty

Haven't even been aware of the achilles over the past two days so plucked up the confidence to run the hilly route home today. The decision was helped by the fact that I didn't fancy heading out at lunch as I was still suffering from a hangover from Muz's farewell drinks and dinner last night. Felt great this evening but for a corked thigh. It's very sore from the adductor all the way down to the knee. Other than that it was an easy run in lovely cool conditions. 31:30 at the Toyota Garage and 59:15 all up for the 13kms.

HuRTS Time Trial

Today (Tuesday) was 6.5km hard on a route starting at the stone gates opposite St Mary's, down to the Opera House, around and back. We had a rough staggered start which we can finesse next time based on today's times. I'd been looking forward to this run as a good gauge of my current fitness. Outcome is that I've still got plenty to do. Set off quickly with Enda running the first km in 3:11. He then pulled ahead in the second km which I ran in 3:23. I was then on my own, suffered in the third km running 3:36 and going through the Stone Gates in 9:46. Was blowing hard around the Opera House covering the next km in 3:36 again but recovered slightly coming back around Farm Cove (3:34). It was then a question of just holding on and pushing hard up the hills for home. Tucks and Andy came past at this stage. Was pretty pleased about the way I finished, closing slightly on Enda towards the end. Clocked 22:45 to finish (exactly what I predicted - central governor was in control). It's just short of 6.5km so works out at 3:31 per/km on average.

Final times were as follows:

Tucks: 21:19
Andy: 22:08
Enda: 22:30
Me: 22:45
Travis: 22:58
Binfield: 23:50
Gerry: 23:54
Smolly: 23:55
Todd Neal: 24:10
Greg: 28:04

Easy recovery

Very easy 5km around the Bot Gardens and Opera House. Bumped into Gerry along the way then Andy and ran with them. Achilles was sore to start with but eased up by the end. Was running in the new orthotics from Dr Windybank which were strange. He suggested a stretch for my ITB and didn't have much affect on that but had immediate affect on my achilles.

...and sore

Had to squeeze in the run at 4pm today after coming back from Billy's all day soccer Gala tournament. Wasn't really in the mood and just wanted to get it over and done with. The result was I took it very easy, barely breathing but worried about every ache and pain in my legs. Might as well just have run it quick- don't seem to worry about all the aches when you run fast. Right ITB is sore, right foot is sore particularly when I twist over it on the inside. Left achilles was a bit sore. Beginning to dislike my new trainers. The result of going cheap is that they have no support on the forefoot and'I felt it today.

26.25km all up in 1:59:02 (4:32's).

Getting tired

Just an easy 33:52 today on my old 7.5km Manly route (run in reverse). Feeling very tired. Keeping up the quiet running but it means there are no comfortable runs. Ran in the Skins that the Striders team won for topping the ANSW Premiership last year. They just seem to make my legs sweaty.

Maggie's back to her old self and no lasting damage that we can see.

Mike Threadgill

Usual Friday route with Ray, Nick Fairfax, Sam and Mat K. One of those rare occassions where I was the youngest person running. Pretty gentle averaging 4:29's (32:38 at the turn). Forgot to restart my watch after stopping for water but it was the same pace on the way back. Finished up with 5 x 80m at 90% effort. Felt heavy legged and tired today, struggling to get into a rythmn and feel comfortable. Achilles feels better by the day though. Woke up this morning able to walk on it without pain for the first time in almost a year. Tough night's sleep though having to rush Maggie to Westmead Kids Hospital after she fell with a stick in her mouth and punctured a hole about the size of a 5 cent piece in the back of her gums.

15kms in total.

Adrian Bell

Plan on the Sean program was 75mins easy (16km). Given I was running the HuRT Squad and we were doing Hickson Road reps, this was not going to be easy. So ran 7km beforehand then ran the reps at a good pace but without killing myself like you normally do on Hickson Road. That's not to say it was at all comfortable. I ran them at about 3:22 per/km pace. Tucks was miles ahead, Serg joined him up front for a couple, Ray, new boy Tim and a couple others were ahead of me with LF Charlie, Pete W and a few others behind. Made me realise how far I've got to go though. Trying to get under 3:40 for each 1.2km rep would have killed me.

By the end of the reps I'd covered 13km at an average of 4:00 per/km, so just jogged back to the office. Couldn't face the 80m sprints. All up 16.03km in 1:06:42 (average of 4:10's). Not quite what Sean had planned I'm sure but not a bad session in any case. It's all good at this stage.

Very bad news for Kanser having picked up a stress fracture in his pelvis. Know how he must be feeling at the moment. Stick with it mate.

Vince McKie

Out with the HuRTS boys. Session was Sean's suggestion for this week, 15mins hard (4min rest), 15mins hard (4mins rest), 10mins hard.

Was still feeling a bit sore after yesterday and trialling my new shoes (Nike Span 6). I've decided to go back to basics with shoes, getting a neutral pair and concentrating on a low heel tab. Good thing about this approach is that they're much cheaper.

Crowd today was fairly quiet again - Serg, Tucks and Ray upfront, Andy joining in and taking it easy with Clement, Pete W, LF Charlie, RMR and a few others behind. I felt pretty average on the first rep, running out yesterday's run from my legs and worrying about how I'd cope with the second long rep. Managed 4.14km in the 15mins (3:37 pace). Felt really good on the second rep. Serg came by very early on having run a 3:16 first km and I tried to stick with him for a while. Then Ray and Tucks came by, Ray dropped off up the hills while Tucks pulled ahead. I then caught Tucks coming up to the gates. Finished the rep in 15:01 so just failed to get back in the same time. Having said that, the Garmin got it at 4.18km (3:36) pace so perhaps I started further back from where I finished the first rep. Tried to do gate to gate in 10mins for the final rep but hit the wind around Farm Cove and only managed 10:10. Still, another building block and pleased with how I felt on the second rep, particularly after yesterday.

Serg should race on Sunday. He's plainly in great shape.

Vince Wilson

In an age group above me, Vince went on to some success. An interesting article on him here.

Plan for today was to fit in my long Sunday run which I missed yesterday. Knew the boys would be meeting up at 12.20pm so slotted in an hour beforehand. Took it very easily averaging about 4:43's. I was a bit worried about my first 2 hour run in 5 months as well as the fact that when I hooked up with the rest of the lads later it would be a bit quicker. As it turned out, only Serg showed up today and Serg is incapable of running slowly. Having said that, it didn't feel as though we were travelling that quick as we were just bantering on about the World Champs etc. However, I noticed the splits were much quicker and we seemed to increase the pace all the way. Finished up covering 27.17kms in 2:00:26. Felt great for the second half and particularly towards the end where I thought I would struggle. A real confidence booster. Here are the splits. It's easy to spot where Serg joined in....

4:45, 4:36, 4:44, 4:46, 4:39, 4:44, 4:49, 4:41, 4:47, 4:42, 4:33, 4:49, 4:58, 4:23, 4:14, 4:16, 4:22, 4:16, 4:14, 4:09, 4:03, 4:07, 4:05, 4:01, 4:01, 4:13, 3:47.

Stephen Outterside

Been away for the weekend at Lake Macquarie. Couldn't fit in a run while away but managed 20mins followed by 5 x 80m sprints at 90% effort this evening. Was worried about the achilles over the weekend as it felt tight and was wondering whether it was due to the sprints on Friday. But everything suddenly felt a lot easier after today's run, even including the sprints. I think I'm susceptible to tight calves and hammies which put strain on the achilles and today's run just eased everything up.

Will have to fit the long run in tomorrow instead.

Goot to see Tucks bounce back to form with a 3rd place in the Willy to Billy and Tim Ashby showing some form in 5th holding off Cradock who has been running well... Results

Paul Morgan

Lee's elder brother. He tried to get me into a pub when we went down to the 1989 English Schools X-Country Champs in Hertfordshire but being a pre-pubescent 15 year old (I was a late developer) it was always going to be tricky. I think we drank Cokes on a park bench and talked about attractive female runners instead. Wasn't a long conversation.

Missed the start of today's run but caught up with Serg, Clyde, Gerry and Sam around Farm Cover for the usual route. Serg dropped off early with an injury. Clyde kept up the banter the whole way. These runs are starting to feel easier - felt bouncy the whole way. About 55mins today due to the shortened start. Finished with 5 x 80m sprints at 90% effort. Shoe almost fell off. Need a new pair.

Danny Wilson

Couldn't join the HuRT Squad today as I had a conference call and was also keen to follow Sean's program rather than 7 gate to gates. Jogged over to Rushcutters (quietly) in 15 mins. There was a school sports day on the Oval so did the session running on the perimeter path of the next door field. Scheduled session was 1min fast, 30s float, 2mins fast, 45s float, 3 mins fast, 60s float x2. So just 16:30 all up. It'll be x3 in 2 weeks time. Started to struggle a bit on the first 3mins fast. My stamina may be OK but my VO2Max has been shot by the 5 month lay off. I would have strolled through this session previously. Started to feel OK again in the second set when I was forcing myself to relax. Didn't worry about my running style when doing the session - seemed to be running on my toes in any case.

Plenty of stretching after then a slower jog back to work. About 11km all up. Achilles no problem but calves still sore. Amazing the change after JLP's work last Friday and the quiet running. I need a new pair of shoes though as my "adapted" shoes just slip off when going quickly.

More great races from the World Champs. 1500m last night was fascinating - just goes to show how tactical that race can be (Peter Rono, Noah Ngeny anyone?). Disappointed with Sally in the 100m Hurdles but the 800m made up for it with a great run from Jenny Meadows. I have a feeling that in 3 weeks she'll be kicking herself even more that she didn't dip for the line to get what may potentially be the gold medal.

Adam Carney

Adam was a bit of a lightweight runner who would crumble in the presence of his oldest mate, Tom Highnam. Only when Tom became permanently injured could Adam emerge from that long shadow and prove himself as a bit of a talent. It looks as though he now has a running blog, which will be added to the list as an honorary HuRT Squad member. You got to convert those mile splits to km's though Adam.

Today was a first outing with the HuRT Squad since March. Session was the progressive tempo, stepping up 10 seconds per km after every 10 minutes and running for 45 mins in total. We turned at 23:30 so tried to get back to the start (up the hills) in 21:30. HuRT Squad was down from when I last ran, and none of the slower runners that I was hoping to cruise around with. Serg, Charlie, Ray, Andy and Timmy C set off in the lead with me leading Gerry, Binfield Motors, Dicky H, Clement and a couple of others in the next group. No idea what the pace was as I had my Adidas watch on instead of the Garmin. Basically reached the far side of the road just before the bridge on Hickson Rd at 23.5mins with the first group about 150m ahead. Dicky H turned slightly early so we were chasing him on the way back. Caught Richard at Circular Quay and ran with him until Serg and Andy came past after the Eastern gates on Farm Cove. Dicky went with them up the hill where I struggled. Tried to keep the pace honest though and was catching Dicky while struggling towards the Stone Gates where we started. Reached them in 45:02, just failing to get back in the allotted time.

Forgotten what it's like running more intense sessions, but pleased to finish relatively strongly. Long way to go until I'm running with the front bunch again though. Tried running quietly (calfs are still agony but no probs with the achilles) until about half way when all I could concentrate on was the pace. I think I naturally run more on my toes when running quicker anyway. Having said that Dicky said he could hear me coming for about 2kms...

Hats off to Tadesse in the 10,000m last night. He's got incredible strength to run from the front and drop quality runners, but Bekele is just unbeatable. Looking forward to the women's 400m tonight to see whether Ohurooooggooooo can time her peak form to perfection once again.

Ben Worthington

Saw Dr Windybank the podiatrist on Thursday and was very impressed. He told me I had Haglund's Syndrome which is what I'd suspected all along. He analysed my running gait and told me I slapped my feet (particularly my left) which put a lot of strain on the achilles. He asked whether anyone commented on how noisy I was when I ran - I said yes. Basically, I've got to try and "run quiet". He said it will be tough to start with and I'll get tired - particularly as I'll naturally run quicker when shortening the stride to do so. Tried it yesterday and he was right.. Ran to South Steyne and back - 4:05; 3:55; 4:00; 3:57; 3:46; 3:46 then pressed the wrong button on my watch. Total of 7.16km. Outside of calves were sore with trying to run quiet but I kept it up.

Today was the long run. Two extended loops of the Manly course (adding a loop around Campbell Pde and turning right on Kenneth Rd). Felt pretty good despite the "quiet running" until about 18km when the legs started to get tired. Felt pretty stuffed at the end after trying to finish quickly - stomach ache etc. In total, 24.3km in 1:46:17 (4:22's). Heel feels great though.

For Mr Durante, Ben Worthington was the top track runner in the North East at the time I was running well. When I went to English Schools to run 1500m for the North East Counties when I was 14, he was actually 7 seconds quicker (he'd run 4:14 to my 4:21), but he got injured so I was picked. I beat my PB in the finals to run 4:19 but still way off his standard. I noticed 2 years later he'd turned his hand to 400m hurdles and got a silver medal in the finals (55.8 - not bad for a 16yr old). So he was obviously pretty adaptable.

Pretty patchy coverage of the World Champs on SBS which is disappointing. Watched highlights of the Womens 10,000 which looked like a fantastic race. Defar's legs just seemed to crumble under her (and I know how she must have felt) when in the lead with 50m to go. Then Melkamu throws up her arms thinking she's won only to suddenly see Masai pip her by one-tenth of a second. It can only happen on the track - that sort of thing doesn't happen in road races.

Go Jessica!

Mark Coupland

Good session with Carl this morning, then rode in easy and out at lunch with Serg, Tucks and Clyde for the Centennial route (cutting back short as usual). Was struggling today and relieved to peel off on my own. I think Serg was keen for me to peel off too so he could up the pace. 55:51 all up. Heel a lot better than Monday after taking care of it yesterday. Also saw Dr Orchard at Sydney Uni yesterday who was encouraging about the injury. Sounds like I'm currently doing the right thing.

Steve Scott

Usual 14.8km Monday route with Serg, Timmy C, LF Charlie, Clyde, Andy and Springer. 32:08 at the turn and 62:43 all up. Achilles started to get a bit sore towards the end so I eased up on the hills. Bit too much stress on it after yesterday's run in the flats.

Plenty of talk about yesterday's race. Will be interesting to see the results tomorrow.

Rode in this morning feeling surprisingly strong so gave Parriwi Road a crack on the big chain ring. New PB in 3:28.

Chris Hilton

Got up and watched the City to Surf for the first time in 6 years, very disappointed not to be running it. But a fantastic run by Ben to finish second in 41:14 (beating my predicted time by 7 seconds). I thought he was going to catch Shelley along Campbell Parade but the gap was too big. A few mixed results - great run by Keith to finish bang on 47 mins and Andy and John looked to have had good runs going low 48. Tucks struggled with a stitch though, Timmy L didn't have it today and Kanser ran a low 49.

I headed out at lunchtime for two laps of the 10km route. Beautiful day and felt great for the first lap but the legs started to get tired at the end of the second loop (my tactic of trying to speed up when I started to feel tired surprisingly didn't work). It's my longest run in 5 months though. Stuck my legs in the pool afterwards to ease the muscles. Chose the wrong shoes (flats with no heel wedges) and my calves took a bit of a pounding. Splits were as follows:

4:51, 4:18, 4:15, 4:17, 4:23, 4:14, 4:13, 4:12, 4:14, 4:20, 4:20, 4:19, 4:13, 4:18, 4:25, 4:04, 3:59, 4:32, 4:29, 4:41.

Total of 20.7km in 1:29:58 (4:20's).

Tim Crossland

I remember turning up to the Gateshead International Cross Country in 1989 (where they had junior races as well as the selection race for the IAAF World Cross Senior team). Given it was just another North East local race, I assumed it would be a straightforward win. But there was this bloke on my shoulder the whole race who I couldn't seem to drop. Eventually it came to a desperate sprint finish which I won on the line. Turns out he was called Tim Crossland and he'd travelled up from somewhere like Manchester for the race. I was looking at English Schools T&F Finals results and noticed he came second in the 1500m in 1990. The winner was Toby Champion, who won the junior race 2 years before when I ran it. Steve Scott, another North Easterner who I raced regularly, was 5th. There's a load of familiar names in the 3000m final that year too, although it looks as though Lee Morgan had a shocker. Interesting to see who came 7th in the Intermediate Boys 1500m Steeplechase Final. I didn't realise Charlie came from Cornwall. No wonder he can't settle down and get married - all this choice in Sydney outside his immediate family...

English Schools 1990

Today was a run through Centennial to see JLP in Bondi Junction (34:32), an hour of agony and then a very easy jog back (23:42).

Won't post before City to Surf so good luck to all the squad running. These are my predicted times. Hope people can make me feel guilty by smashing them:

Ben: 41:23
Tucks: 45:52
Kanser: 47:53
Andy: 48:37
Cradock: 49:10
Enda: 49:11
Binfield Motors: 49:20
Big Timmy L: 49:59 (you better had mate, I want my $50)
Ray: 50:48
Fairfax: 54:59
Charlie D: 57:02
Conway: 62+