HuRTS 4 x 3km

Good session today. Was a bit worried backing up from 30km yesterday but legs felt OK running down Macquarie St with Laura and the UBS boys.

Ran in the front group with Quentin, Bartles, Dicky H and Andy. Quentin and I pulled ahead a little going up the hills on the first rep to finish the 10mins at the final lamppost (15m short) - 3:26 pace. We all regrouped after 2 mins to start from the Stone Gates for the return leg downhill and finished the 2.92km in 9:37 (3:17 pace). I was determined to get to the Stone Gates on the tricky third rep so pushed the pace up the hills and finished strongly with Quentin just missing out in getting there in 10:01 (3:25 pace). We had a bit of a headwind on this rep too. The last rep was just a question of holding on. Legs started to feel a bit numb but was pleased to finish pretty strongly in running the 2.92km in 9:34 (3:16 pace).

Good confidence builder as it was a solid session. Dicky H and Bartles both going well. 14km all up.

Comeback of the Century!

No, I'm not referring to my race result. But the mighty Toon's response to being 4-0 down after 26 minutes (and still at 68 mins) against Arsenal. There would have been a few celebrations in the Bigg Market after Tiote's Goal.

Queenscliff Nipper champs early yesterday with friends coming around in the afternoon (and an early start on the beers) meant no run yesterday. First day off in 2011 and my longest continuous running streak - 36 days. Made up for missing the sacrosanct long run today by doing the usual loop early by myself then joining the group (MC, LF Charlie, Bartles, Ray, Dicky H, Indrajeet, King James, Craig etc.). Very easy pace the whole way. 30km in 2:14:30.

Sun Run

7th in 22:05(ish).

Early morning start a 6.45am kick off so Tiger picked me up at 6.00am before we picked up Quentin and Hamburglar, parking at Curl Curl before jogging the 2km to the start line. Queued for ages for the only toilet in Dee Why before lining up. It was hot this morning (again, sounding like a broken record) and very humid. I was sweating on the start line. Timmy Rowe and Vlad were there so that sorted out the first two places, but it didn't stop a load of young pretenders sprinting off the start line. I thought my legs weren't working as there were loads in front of me but started to overtake them going up the hill.

Went down the other side pretty quick but Quentin and another chap came past at the bottom and immediately gapped me. Overtook a young lad around South Curl Curl SLSC but that's the way it stayed for the rest of the race. It was bloody hilly and I just couldn't get the legs turning over fast enough. Quentin ended up in 5th about 20s in front.

First race since November and I need to do some more. Also need to do some hill work and more tempos. But generally all on track.

Old Stomping Grounds

Very slow 14km around the old stomping grounds of Balls Head (including the bush track). Team included MC, Ray, Craig (new blog referenced), Brendan, Adam Conquest, LF Charlie and Louis. 69:18.

121km for the week.

HuRTS Pyramid

2km warm up jog to Art Gallery. Singlet and shorts soaking despite only running 5 min kms. Bloody humid and it's 37C out there now. Wouldn't fancy doing the 5000m in these conditions tonight. Jog over to Rushcutters with Tucks, Ray, Todd, Phil W, Coops, Chris G, John C and a few others for the pyramid. Decide just to cruise it today because:

(a) had the Allens swimming carnival last night followed by a few too many Coopers Pale Ales at the Tilbury; and
(b) wanted to save something for Saturday morning.

Did the first lap in 89s (3:19's) so decided just to run them all at that pace. Reps went as follows:

1 lap: 89s
2 laps: 3:02
3 laps: 4:35
4 laps: 6:00
3 laps: 4:28
2 laps: 2:57
1 lap: 84s

Felt not quite comfortable but not too hard. Beautiful running surface, mown green grass with plenty of bounce.

I performed with distinction at the swimming carnival:

50m Backstroke: Last.
Partners race (freestyle): Last.
4 x 50m freestyle relay: My team last.
50m Breastroke: 3rd in the A Division.

My 50m breastroke was faster than my freestyle (and I almost had to be fished out of the pool in the backstroke). Had a good chat with Libby Trickett who was lovely.

Steamy Wednesday

Not quite as hot as yesterday (33C) but a slight breeze today which made a huge difference. Last night was a shocker. Not a breath of wind so just lay sweating all night in a 28C sauna.

Just MC, a mate of his I'd not met before, RMR and Big Mikey H today, with MC and his mate peeling off at the first lap around Centennial. Took it very easy due to the heat just trying to get the kms into the legs. Having said all that, I felt better today than any day this year. Not an ache or pain to speak of and felt pretty sprightly. I'll put it down to the Tiger massage yesterday.

All up 1:25:38 for the 18.7km (4:34's). Good to see Big Mikey H out again. At one point he asked whether we were going to do marathon pace stretches (like the good old days). I quickly hosed down that idea. I once did this loop with him in 1:14:43 (July 30 2008).

HuRTS 5min reps

It was carnage out there today. With scenes reminiscent of Passchendaele, grown men were left weeping spead-eagled around Farm Cove in the 35C heat. Wildman (2 reps) - goneski. Dicky H (3 reps) - kaput. Fast Charlie (4 reps) - au revoir. Big Mikey H (6 reps) - auf wiedersehn. JF (6 reps) - ciao. It was left to the hard men of running to see this session through. Jason I, Young Timmy, Tucks, Quentin, RMR, Ray, King James and myself - all runners schooled in the University of hard knocks with diplomas in perseverance - finished all 8 and rewarded ourselves with a dip in the harbour. Best way to spend a lunchtime. There's not many cities in the world you can do that.

In truth, we started pretty easy. Big Mikey H pushed reps 3 and 4 which were our quickest. Normally we pick the pace up as we go but we were just holding on to the original pace for the final reps just trying to deal with the heat. The 90s rests would either be spent jogging to the bubbler or hiding under a tree. Massive crowd despite the conditions and great to see some old familiar faces returning.

Quentin is running on Saturday which should give me something to aim for. Only 8 promoted from the Vets waitlist for Six Foot this morning so I'm now number 9 on the list...

Getting hot, hot, hot

32C and humid today. Felt warmer. Supposed to be 38C for our 8 x 5mins tomorrow. I think a dip in the harbour could be called for.

Good crowd today including some old timers like Wildman, Killa, Tucks, MC, Clyde, Springer, Laura, Rob, King James etc. Very easy pace because of the heat. Despite the large starting group only Tucks and I actually finished the whole thing. 15.8km in 71:36.

Six Foot start list down to 893. I'm 17th on the waitlist. Could be some good news coming soon...

Dee Why Dash

Up at 5.45am, jogged directly to Dee Why to work out how long it'll take me to get to the start of the Sun Run next week (28 mins), joined 6.20am group of Dee Why Dash including Flakey, RMR, Mark Fiore, Pete T, Steve Hume, Georgie, Jo Cowan. Pushed the hills as I was feeling good and there are plenty of hills on this run. Pace picked up a lot coming down Allambie road running 3:50's, stopped at Queenscliff having done 31km in 2:22.

Dipped the legs in the Pacific Ocean which felt magic, shark alarm went off so hopped out. First thing Gaz says to the kids in Under 8 Nippers is "Follow Tom for a run down the beach!". I'm shagged out and can't even keep up with the slow kids. Beautiful morning though. Walk home with the kids eventually by 11.15am and immediately fall asleep on the sofa. Best start to the day.

Saturday meanders

12km in 52:57 including 8km of barefoot running around Campbell Parade. Sartorius still feeling slightly tight so wanted more stuff easy on the legs. Beautiful day and only 25C. First time I've come back from a run not caked in sweat this year.

Easy Friday

With temperatures down to 25C and a bit of a breeze about it felt cool today and much better for running. Decent crowd turned up including Ray, Luke, King James, Craig, Marty and others. Big boat was in at Barangaroo so we did the old Hickson Road route turning near the 2km reps finish. Out in 33:45 (4:39's), back in 31:03 (4:16's) which included a pit stop for me so a couple of kms in just over 7mins to catch up with the group again. Then when I did, Luke suddenly upped the pace, we caught a random chap with 500m who didn't want to let us overtook him so it all ended with a bizarre all out sprint covering the final km in about 3:20. I guess it was just a release of a bit of pent up energy finally having some cooler weather. Everone looked a bit sheepish after that.

113km for the week.

Me and my boys

 

HuRTS 4 x 2km

Another warm one out there today (30C and 70% humidity) but a decent turnout for a Thursday - the HuRT Squad seems to like the longer reps. We split the group into two with Jason, Ray, Young Timmy, Andy and I in the front group and RMR, Clement, LF Charlie, Jules and Craig among others in the second group but including a guest star showing of Enda.

The session was tough in the heat, so tough in fact that we were even subjected to the sight of Page 3 Wareham, the first time we've seen him strip down to skins. I'll be doing the same if the weather gets any hotter. Those of us without sunglasses were regretting the decision at this stage, the glare was so bright we might as well have been staring straight at the Opera House.

Felt good on the reps. Was out on my own on the first. Gave the lads a 10s start on the second to chase them down then a 15s start on the final two, with Ray showing some fight at the end of each. Reps went as follows:

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

Tailwind on the 1st and 3rd (with the corresponding headwind on the 2nd and 4th) made for about a 5 second differential between the two. Felt pretty controlled. Times are still well down on what I was running for the corresponding Tuesday and Thursday sessions at the end of July last year (immediately prior to City to Surf). Having said that, weather was much more benign and with the help of others pushing the pace too.

5km warm down for 15km all up.

Australia Day

Manly is bogan central. Got out early to avoid the masses and decided on an easy session today (Timmy will be pleased) with some barefoot running so repeated Sunday's run. 46:45 all up for 10.1km. Running barefoot felt fantastic on freshly mown grass that was stillslightly dewy at 7am.

HuRTS Progressive tempo

With temperatures up to 30C, but not quite as oppressive as yesterday, it was a turnout of the hardcore today. And Wildman. No Timmy (I think he was swimming with the boys at ABC Pool), no MC (he had an itch on his hamstring), no Tucks (prefers cycling these days) and numerous others missing.

Set out with Quentin and Wildman at an easy pace with Fenton just behind being regaled with stories of back to back ironman races and 8km swims from Smolly. Turned at the road where Hickson Road bends (5.87km) so averaging 4:00's. Quentin and I were then randomly joined by some American college runner who'd flown in from Cairns that morning and asked if we were in some sort of race. The sound of another American accent was enough to spur me on a bit. He dropped off around Farm Cove and Quentin dropped back a bit on the hills back home. Reached the start point in 44:17, averaging a solid 3:32 pace on the way back which wasn't bad in the heat. Felt really good today, as if I always had another gear.

4km warm down with Andy and Quentin for 16km all up.

Easy(ish) Monday

It would have been easy, but I walked out of the office into what felt like a sauna - 33C and humid.

Each run is following a familiar pattern at the moment. Feel knackered and like crap for the first 5km, then get into a rythmn and start to feel pretty good. Today was no different other than the heat and humidity was pretty strength sapping towards the end. They were falling like flies today. I think I was the only one who managed the whole course. Variously, Timmy, Ray, Laura, Luke, MC and Craig dropped in or out.

Love the new trainers. Seem to slap my feet far less when running in them. Bit worried about my right sartorius though, which feels slightly strained near my groin. Saw Carl this morning and avoided the plyometrics and just did stretching. My right glute is very stiff which seems to have created the problem.

15.8km in 69:02.

Very easy Sunday

Was knackered all of yesterday and very lethargic after running U8 Nippers this morning, but went out in the mid-afternoon to test out my new shoes (Asics DS Trainers - have converted given Brooks have discontinued the Infiniti 2). Having said that, given my left plantar fascia has been a bit sore in the mornings I fancied doing some barefoot running to get some flexibility into the foot. So jogged down to Campbell Parade and ran some figure of 8's barefoot. The running stride changes, much shorter and higher cadence but it felt really good. Put the shoes back on to run home and that felt unnatural. Will definitely continue to give this a shot although only once a week for now as the change in running style will lead to injury if I do too much too often. My only concern is flaring up the achilles again. Removed the heel lifts in the new trainers (although still have the orthotics).

10km in 45mins all up.

Long Saturday

With Dickyboy up in the Blue Mountains, I had to fend for myself today. Was a bit worried about getting lost on the bush trails and fancied a change so just did the 3 x Manly 10km loops. Big crowd on Manly beach with the Australian Surf Life Saving Champs taking place, but plenty to distract the monotony of running a slow 30km by myself. Laps went 45:20, 44:45 and 43:42. The last laps was only quicker because I ran past a group of 15 year olds at Queenscliff on the final lap who were about to do some sort of time trial. Sure enough, they came past at North Steyne and I couldn't resist going with them.

31km all up.

Easy Friday

Just Julian, Craig and French Ben today, but JF joined in about half way around. Even bumped into MIA Greg. 14.89km in 66:29 (4:28's). Nice and easy on a beautiful Sydney day.

121km for the week.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Cor blimey gov. Legs very heavy this morning. Struggled to even run for the Jet Cat. So set out for a pre-HurTS warm up only intending to cruise along at the back at 4mins per km before doing a jog warm down.

Rocked up at the start to see tumbleweed blowing across the path. Tuesday's may be swamped by runners but Thursday's certainly aren't. Maybe Mr Conway is more popular than I had thought. Maybe they're all secret training. Maybe they were all shagged after Tuesday's session. French Ben set off like a hare and I settled down to what I thought would be the back of the pack but ended up in second place pacing Luke. Adam Conquest was just behind with Ray, Brendan K, Coops, Jason I and others further back. Felt pretty comfortable averaging about 3:45's (combined for the fast and floats) on the way out. Benny French had obviously got confused as he came flying past us going the wrong way on the second 60s rep, obviously having turned too early. Picked it up a bit following the turn (just past the zebra crossing outside the Art Gallery) running with Ray and ended up at the steps at the end of the Opera House having done about 5.6km.

Then did a 4km warmdown with Luke and Ben for about 11.5km all up. Legs feel much better for having stretched them a bit with the faster running.