It's all about speed

Unfortunately I have none. Any Joe Schmoe can clock up the kms.

Today was 8 gate to gates (909m) but I only did 6 as I was getting pretty tired and am still erring on the side of caution. A good crowd but none of the fast boys were there (well, Fast Charlie was there but is even further behind on the comeback trail than me). I ran at the front for most with Ray darting in and out. MC and Pete W were just behind (the former having clocked up 22kms yesterday). Reps went as follows:

3:06
3:07
3:03
3:04
3:00
2:53

Ray pushed along on the final 2 and I just tucked in behind. The thing is, 3:06 (which is 3:24 pace) felt uncomfortably fast. I can't believe it gets that much easier with more kms. Perhaps I'm just getting old.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

This used to be one of my favourite sessions and today didn't disappoint. Another beautiful day if slightly too warm out of the shade. John and Andy headed off out front leaving a pack of me, MC, Pete Walker and another behind. I set the pace for this group and the km splits went as follows:

3:48, 3:56, 3:55, 3:47, 3:43, 3:59, 3:58, 3:59, 3:45, 3:53, 3:59, 3:56.

Tried to pull ahead of MC and Pete coming back around the Opera House and managed to create a gap which they closed slightly as I tired coming back up the hills. Finished back at the gates with 15s to spare. Felt great on the fast stretches for the first half though. All up 11.53km in 44:45 so averaging 3:54's.

Getting Longer

Bit of a mess up this morning. Had picked up Ryan and was supposed to be doing a shortened version of the Striders STaR but got the starting place wrong (I went to the Rotunda) so missed the 6.30am group. Ryan and I did a route up to Centennial and then 2 laps of Centennial instead. I left him after the 2nd lap (16kms at which point we had been averaging 4:27s) then jogged back to the car. Slowed down a lot over the final 6kms to finish 21.35km in 1:35 - 4:32s. Tired and sore now. Need to stretch a lot. Bumped into Ben and Sean in Centennial, telling the latter (probably optimistically) that I'd be back soon.

Got a call from Duncan mid-morning asking if I wanted to swim from Shelley to Manly in prep for the Cole Classic. It was a perfect day weather wise so I did. Ended up swimming from Shelley all the way to Queenscliff. Knackered now.

Plans for the year

Today was a gentle 10.3km with Ray and Sam in 46:45 (4:32's). First run I've done this time back feeling comfortable, which has given me a load of confidence. Achilles fine and hip better than ever. Most surprising thing of the run though was bumping into Kanser along Hickson Rd. Still tentative early stages for him but great to see him out there.

55kms for the week and 105kms on the bike. 0km swimming which is a bit of a concern for the upcoming Cole Classic. Must get down to the Manly Boy Charlton tomorrow.

Priorities for 2010 at this stage are as follows (in order):

1. Remain injury and pain free.
2. City to Surf
3. JPMorgan CC
4. State 3000m track
5. Road marathon - possibly Sydney in September
6. One decent Half to try and crack PB - maybe Gold Coast
7. One fast 10km
8. Long Course X-Country in Nowra
9. Beat Tucks at anything. May have to race him over 400m.

Old stamping ground

Headed over to Hickson Road for the usual session. I was aiming to run them quick enough to feel uncomfortable but not hell for leather like this session should be run. Reps went as follows:

4:08
3:56
4:04
4:01
4:00

So around 3:23-3:25 pace. Fats was out front ahead of Andy with Mike and Clyde just in front of me and a very fit looking Mike Race. Not quite the huge crowds running between 3:30 and 3:40 of days gone by, but still a decent turnout. Pleased to get through it with no discernible impact on the hip or achilles. Jog there and back made it about 10km.

Back with the HuRT Squad

Yesterday was a Conway/Dalziell variation on the Balls Head route. Very easy pace (made me realise how quickly I've been running by myself) on a warm day and with lots of bush and twists and turns made for 13.39km in 67:47 (5:04 pace). Just happy for the time on feet though. Was a bit concerned with my hip towards the end of the day (after riding home) but woke up this morning feeling good.

Today was a 4 x 10mins session with the HuRT Squad but I only wanted to run 2 of them. Farm Cove was blocked off so we ran the old Art Gallery Rd route (see post on 14 June 2007 for what we used to run these in). I ran with MC on the first with Binfield out in front - we averaged 3:49's covering 2.62km. I tried to find some water after that and miised the start so ran behind everyone on the second rep. Covered exactly 2.62km again so at least they were consistent. Felt comfortable to start with but rapidly deteriorated in the heat (31C out there but with little shade to hide under). 2km jog to end with. Long way to go...

Tucks - not sure why I updated the Head to Heads, particularly given Durante has effectively retired, Kanser has gone AWOL and Serg is in aestivation. If the injuries stay at bay, I'll probably run the Striders 10kms and Six Foot, but looking at City to Surf as something to finally be competitive for. Tiger has laid a bet....

2010

2009 was a bit of a write-off. Effectively injured all year, but only accepting it from the end of March onwards. Racing back too quickly and picking up a new, equally serious injury. Hope to learn from my mistakes. I still managed 2 PB's, albeit soft ones, with 15:39 on a hot windy day for 5000m and 3:53 for the Six Foot Track.

2010 is starting well. I'm back running pain free but still just gently. I'm still "aware" of both injuries and am worried that if I pick up the training too much either could recur. However, I've felt that way about my left knee for the past 20 years and managed to live with it.

Tasmania was fantastic. Flakey - we missed the Hobart Marathon by a few hours as we flew out yesterday morning at 10am. Would be keen to head back and race in Tassie in the future though as it's a beautiful spot and seems to support running - we caught the tail end of a 5km race in Hobart on our first day there on 28th December. I managed 7 runs in the 2 weeks, gradually increasing the time on feet to 56 mins a couple of days ago. It's bloody hilly though. I seemed to encounter a huge hill on every run I did. Best place for running was Land of the Giants near New Norfolk (Russel Falls) where I ran for 5 minutes straight up a road and then found some gently undulating forest trails for the next 45 minutes. Also enjoyed sand-boarding on the Henty Sand Dunes in Strahan - I'd run up the dunes after each ride which was great for the glutes.

Will post some photos soon.

Boxing Day

Lull in Blog updates over the past week or so having travelled back to the UK and being busy. Caught a cold on the flight back (not surprising given the temperature in the UK and the busy itinerary). Did 3 runs in Hexham, each on the same route around Warden (about 9km). All run quicky - on or just over 4mins per km. The final one was with Jamie on a very frosty morning of Dad's wedding. He made me keep the pace very honest all the way before we caught site of Laurence just before Hallstile Bank (thank God).

Today was the first run in a week and running off the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day drinking. Quickish again for 8km (my 7.5km Manly route but extended through to Campbell Pde finishing at the Mola's where we were for Christmas Day). Plan to run more frequently in Tassie and then pick it up again in the New Year. May even make a HuRT session in January. Hip and achilles are pain free. Only become aware of my hip when I slow down and "sit back" into my stride, hence the quicker running. I've been slack on the exercises recently though which make a huge difference.

Good start

Carl blew me out this morning (after just paying for my new set of 10) so rode to work angry. Albeit not very fast. Just haven't been putting the time in on the bike recently. Went out over lunch for 7km, first 5km quick (19:14) and the last 2km slow (10 mins). Felt very bouncy again, this glute work is doing wonders. Achilles good. Hip good.

Sunday fun

South Steyne and back from home. 30:14 (about 15:07 at South Steyne). Very warm but felt great and bouncy. No probs with the hip although achilles has stiffened up a bit since Thursday. Spent the morning watching Bec in the Nippers Carnival at Queenscliff where she just missed the final of the beach sprint after looking across in the final 10m. No wade due to the heavy surf which was a shame as it's her strongest event.

Update

Sore after first run so will try again tomorrow.

A few recent photos....

http://pommytom.smugmug.com/Highnam/December-2009/10541399_UTTrR/1/732144034_NqHdu

Tentative return

Very easy 5km today testing out the hip (the MRI for which showed a bony spur on my femur head and torn cartilage). No pain although I "became aware" of it in the final 500m. We'll see how it is tomorrow. Been doing a stack of exercises on my glutes which has made a big difference in the past week.

Very unfit though. Felt great for the first 2 minutes then the heavy breathing started.

Adductor Tendinopathy

Is what I have - saw a physio on Wednesday. 2-3 weeks off running, but allowed (and encouraged) to ride the bike. Groin is very tender at the moment, even to touch. Won't be fit for JPMorgan or State 3000m now but will be happy to sort this problem out properly and start running pain free again. Will take it much easier this time with no fixed goals other than to start building a good base.

Bugger

Session was 14 x 3mins off 60s but I pulled out after 6. Not sure what the matter was - completely bereft of energy and was puffing and wheezing just to hang on to the back of the group running 3:45s. Plus the groin/adductor was very sore (which it has been all week but have been trying to ignore it). Have booked an appointment at the physio tomorrow and will sort it out properly this time. Won't be fit for November but just want to run pain free again. Only good news is that the achilles feels stronger every day and actually seems to be better the more running I do.

Strange things are afoot...

Yesterday I showed up at Centennial Park at 6.45am to find our usual meeting place roped off by police due to the murder of a 37yr old. http://www.smh.com.au/national/man-died-a-violent-death-20090927-g7js.html. Today I try and run around North Head only to find the road closed by police due to a human skeleton being found by a fossicker. http://www.smh.com.au/national/skeleton-found-at-north-head-20090927-g7dm.html. Also on my run today, I set off with all things being usual from near Campbell Parade and return retracing my original steps to find a massive tree blocking the path. Good job I wasn't anywhere near it when it came down as I don't think I would have had the acceleration to avoid it.

Dropped Billy off at Woody's for a party and left the car there to do a 2 hour run. Ran to Shelley, up to North Head (but stopped by the cops at the roundabout), so went back the same way but when I got to Queenscliff carried on up the coast beyond Dee Why before turning around and heading home. Just like 2 weeks ago I felt fine until 90 minutes then really struggled. Didn't fall apart quite as badly as last time but it wasn't as hot. I think the correlation is doing the long run after Sean's session the day before, done it twice and both times I've struggled. All up it was 2:00:11. Works out at about 26.5km (route) so about 4:32 per km.

The Lambton Worm

Caught up with Sean's squad for 8km hard followed by 10 hills. Lots of wind today which, given we run a figure of 8 circuit, helped in parts but was tough in others. Laps went as follows:
7:04
7:17
7:24
7:03
28:46 all up. Felt pretty depressed during the 2nd and 3rd laps seeing the Tiger and Hollie pulling further ahead (albeit only doing 6km) and then saw Wayne Bulloch closing in on me so put some effort into the final lap. Felt better on that lap, lacking in confidence at the moment to push it earlier. Wayne was about 15 seconds behind. Given he ran 35:00 at North Head that shows about where I'm at. Pushed all the hills this time so pretty tired by the end. 15kms all up.

Bobby Shaftoe

Just an easy 6km today but ran it quite quick going through 5km in 20:09 before easing down to jog up the hill.

Cushy Butterfield

She's a big lass!
And a bonny lass!
And she loves her beer!
And they call her Cushy Butterfield,
and I wish she was here!

Another run home tonight. 31:07 at the Toyota Garage and 58:45 all up. Felt quite bouncy towards the end with the last 2km in 7:45.

A bet has been laid

Adductor was feeling better and had a massage with the Tiger so tested a run by running home. Where the adductor previously was sore was fine, but felt uncomfortable in the groin in an external, inside of the leg position. Was sore when the foot landed as opposed to when I dragged it forward as before. Achilles was also a bit sensitive with not having run in a while. Can't understand why I'm getting all these aches and pains in the hip flexor/groin area. Even the left leg was slightly sore. Otherwise run felt great, hardly breathing but was helped by a decent south westerly pushing me all the way home.

Got to ignore injuries from now though. Gary and I have $50 on who beats the other in the State 3000m. There's a $50 bonus if either beats my PB. I certainly won't achieve the latter, but it's full stream ahead on training regardless as to the aches and pains in order to beat the Tiger.

Bugger it

Very easy 6km run around the Botanical Gardens. Feeling strong again but the adductor/groin problem was bad. I number of other muscles in the leg get sore trying to protect it. Will take the next 5 days off to hopefully knock it on the head...