Six Foot Track - 9th in 3:49:57

Approached the race feeling pretty good. Training had gone well, tapered well, no illnesses and was feeling pretty good. Nothing to complain about which is rare for me. Rocked up to face the longest toilet queue in the world, stood there panicking a bit then finally joined Wave 1 next to Tucks and Quentin. Decided to push the start a bit quicker so as not to get stuck going down Nellies Glen, Quentin jumped ahead of the two guys in front of me who proceeded to take it very gingerly allowing Quentin to gap them significantly. The girl behind me (Anna Frost) was getting a bit impatient behind so we let her through.

Picked the pace up with the two Gramps Army runners in front, one of whom was David Hosking, who I'd end up running quite a bit with. Pace was quick along here, with km splits of 3:34, 3:49, 3:50 and 3:52. Always love this bit of the race before the pain begins. Followed David all the way to Cox's (overtaking a few on the way, including Anna). Launched myself into the deep river so as not to look like a mincer and proceeded to overtake David and another chap in the process. Crossed the Cox's mat in 1:08:50. Then the hills begin. The hills to Mini-Mini are the worst. Ran them all until I heard a familiar voice just before the open field and sure enough Tucks comes past. Ran with him until the bugger of a hill to the top of Mini-Mini where I started to walk. I was plodding so slowly that I was starting to cramp up, so figured I might as well walk the very steep bits. Tucks of course kept on running and started to gap me. Going up Pluvi I ran by Timmy Ashby but was overtaken by David Hosking and Anthony Scott (who went on to finish 4th!). Reached Pluvi in 2:14:55 (I think). From then on, it was a pretty lonely experience. Had very black thoughts along Black Range (where did those extra hills come from?). Got very worried about being "chicked" as very time I went past an aid station I'd get a cheer then 30seconds later would here a cheer twice as loud. After crossing Caves Road I put a real effort in to get some low 4min kms. Massively relieved to finally see the finish and got all emotional as usual. Shame Dad and the kids were still doing a Jenolan Caves tour so went for a massage instead.

First PB for 2 years which is a bit of a relief. I was worrying about getting old. Having said that, this does seem to be a gnarly old man's race.

Great result by Quentin to run 3:44 on debut. Tucks is a machine, running 3:41 after being just out of sight at Pluvi. He must hammer the Black Range. Nice couple of bees with Eoin, King James, Marc, Dickyboy and Rob after.

Body a bit beaten up. Hip flexors are very sore and Achilles not great. I'll take it very easy this week.

Thanks for the SMS's - sorry i couldn't respond until now as there's no coverage at Caves House.

Here and there

Jog around Hyde Park, Mrs Macs Chair and Macquarie St prior to catching the Fast Ferry. 8kms in 35 mins. Bumped into people doing the ABC Biathlon. Would have been a good day to do it judging by the pace of the leaders of the first wave.

Aims for Six Foot:

1. Don't die
2. Avoid requiring oxygen at end a la Dicky H
3. Enjoy myself
4. Beat Timmy Ashby
5. Run 3:49:19

We'll see.

Lots on

Terrible night's sleep last night. Claudia starts screaming at 3.30am and stops 2.5 hours later. Then up at 6.30m for conference speaking duties this morning. Sandbagged all day but manage a run home. Feel very average for the first half then it all comes together. 55:41 all up after splits of 15:52, 29:45 and 48:21. Need a couple of good nights sleep before Sat.

Run home

58:35. I'd normally say easy run to upset Young Timmy but after a last minute massage last night and not drinking enough water today my legs felt like lead the whole way.

Achilles much better though after some TLC over the past couple of days. Relieved as I was getting worried for a while. Not sure Saturday morning will do it much good mind.

Some very fast times on Saturday morning up at North Head. Vlad and Unc in particular smashing their PB's with low 31's, Bleasel and Bartles with sub 34's, Eoin running a PB and even Young Timmy getting back under 36. Spoke to Quentin on the ferry this morning who sounded a bit disappointed with his 33:27 saying he felt tired most of the way. Could be a lesson there if I cared to listen.

Usual Monday

15.8km in 70:23. Very easy on the way out and picking up a bit on the way back. Decent size crowd today with Luke, King James, Craig, Brendan, Laura, Ray etc. and, wait for it, Durante!! Couldn't Adam and Eve it when I got an email from Tigger asking if I was running today. He cut short for a meeting after circling the Opera House on the way back but we were well ahead of the others by that stage so I plodded home alone.

Manly 15km

Burnt Bridge Creek, Queenscliff, Shelly, Osbourne Road, Fairlight Pool and back via Willyama. Felt fine but achilles sore again. 15km in 64:22.

Cooler Brissy

Out again along the river but stayed on the river this time. Turned at 7km at the University of Queensland then came back the same way. Felt great after a couple of days easy. 14km in 58:54 (4:12's) but the splits tell the real story:
4:40, 4:58, 4:35, 4:19, 4:13, 4:18, 4:09, 4:03, 4:07, 3:58, 3:47, 3:45, 3:57, 3:58

105kms for the week.

Viva BrisVegas!

Couldn't fit in Hurt Squad in rushing to get to the airport (which I was secretly relieved about as I was feeling a bit tired and sore this morning) so arrived at the Sofitel in Brisbane, got Maps out on the iPad and searched for a run route. Remembered someone mentioning Mt Coot-tha on a thread on Coolrunning once so decided to get down to the river, stick to it and then head up to Mt Coot-tha. Worked perfectly. But bloody he'll, Brissy is humid. It's like Sydney on steroids. My vest has never been more sodden than when I got back. All up 14.3km in about 65mins (4:29's).

Wahey Benny!

How good is that! Way beyond all expectations! That is world class.

MLR Wednesday

4km this morning to Carl's doing the same session as last week but avoiding the calf raises with weights which my achilles didn't appreciate.

Lunch met up with Timmy, Wildman and Rob for the usual 18.8km route around Centennial. 10C cooler than yesterday and as a result the pace was relatively quick compared to recent weeks. 1:20:43 all up (4:18's).

HuRTS Progressive tempo

Chowed down some Voltaren last night. Bursar immediately better. Rocked up today feeling very lethargic in the 33C heat but encouraged by a big crowd including Tucks, Quentin, Bartles, Wildman, JB, Ray, Andy, Wildman, Jason, Pete W - basically you name it and they were there. Other than MC and Young Timmy, no doubt enjoying some swim time.

Set off and felt comfortable running 4:05's chatting to Bartles. Dropped the pace every 10 mins but then coming around CQ Tucks hit the front and were found ourselves running a 3:36. And we hadn't even turned around yet. I made an executive decision to turn at 23:15 as opposed to 23:30 given how fast we had run on the out leg and how warm it was - meaning we'd struggle towards the end. We reached the turn on exactly 6km. Still had a decent sized group at this stage so I decided to push the pace a bit to whittle it down. Tucks, Quentin and Bartles stayed with me all the way until Mrs Mac's Chair when I put in a bit of effort going up the hills and they were obviously saving themselves for the North Head 10km race on Saturday morning. Got back in 44:30 so averaged 3:52's on the way out and 3:32's on the way back. Actual splits on the Garmin went as follows (the dodgy one is under CQ on the return):

4:00, 4:04, 3:56, 3:41, 3:36, 3:41, 3:34, 3:36, 2:56(?), 3:24, 3:26, 3:35, 55s (3:23 pace).

Good confidence booster. One more tough session to go before Six Foot.

Easy Monday

...with the body only just holding together.

Took yesterday off as I was just too tired and sore. Left heel bursar flared up after hills last Thursday and has been sore. Thankfully not the achilles itself (I can do the eccentric loading with no pain) so may just take some Voltaren to get the swelling in the bursar down and avoid hills. Until Six Foot of course. Both knees also feel slightly sore too though.

Today was the usual Monday route with a couple of variations with another cruise ship in dock. Crowd included Craig, Laura, Indrajeet and James but after about 2 minutes it seemed to be just me, Wildman, Rob and Springer with the others further back. I felt great after a day off yesterday. Pace gradually picked up on the way back. Rob stopped at CQ and Wildman around Farm Cove so I finished it by myself. 16.00km exactly in 68:34 (4:17's) but with the final 3km up the hills in 3:58, 3:58 and 3:49.

Should just say congratulations in order for Young Timmy who ran a great race at the Equaliser yesterday to finish on the podium in 3rd. Outsprinting Fats in the process and showing the likes of Dickyboy a clean pair of heels. The training all seems to be paying off. Hamburglar also looked to have had a good result.

Bush run Part 4

Caught up with Quentin at 6.30am for the final bush run prior to Six Foot. We both agreed on just 2 hours today rather than the mammoth effort of last week. I was a bit worried about running in the bush without trail specialist Richard, and sure enough we took a wrong turn before we even got to Manly Dam. Entered the Dam via North Balgowlah, skirted around Manly Vale Public School then came back around the Western side arriving at the pipeline near Warringah Aquatic Centre. We then crossed the Wakehurst Parkway, came down to Seaforth Oval, down to Spit Bridge and ran the Spit to Manly. Lots of bush but we were running pretty quickly as shown in the splits (Garmin now fixed):

4:45, 4:17, 4:35, 4:40, 4:10, 4:14, 4:33, 5:22, 6:28, 5:23, 4:05, 4:06, 5:10, 4:14, 4:04, 5:07, 5:19, 4:26, 6:37, 5:51, 5:24, 4:30, 4:30, 3:54, 4:58.

25.00km in 2:00:43 averaging 4:50's. Much easier than last week. Quentin was dropping me on the technical uphill section of the Spit to Manly though. He'll go well at Six Foot if he runs it sensibly.

Left hammy pretty sore which I felt on the steep uphills. Right knee also giving me a bit of concern. Need Six Foot to arrive now so that I can give the body a much needed rest.

Last week was 110km despite not being able to get out on Friday due to work commitments. The day off was welcomed.

Cor Blimey Thursday - HuRTS Hills

Sent a late change of session notice to do hills. Was a late change of heart on my part. Last night the legs were so stiff I thought I'd better not do hills but then recovered pretty well overnight so thought, what the hell, I'm going to have to run up a few in 2 weeks time.

Jogged over to Darling Point with Wildman, Tucks, Clyde, Ray, Chris G, JC, Luke, Dom and Rob. Small but select group. I thought the hill was about 200m long so suggested 10 reps. Turns out it's 350m but we still did 10. It's fairly steep to start with, levels out then really kicks up again at the end. Every rep followed a familiar pattern. Ray would lead out with me behind and Tucks just behind me. Tucks would overtake me on the flatter section then we'd both overtake Ray on the steep section when the lactic kicks in. Averaged all the reps between 88 and 90seconds. Monstered at the end. Chris G very strong on the hills which is why he always does well at Six Foot. Ray also outperforms. Wildman looked buggered but it'll do him the world of good. I reckon I've got two more weeks before he overtakes us.

13.5km all up after the jog to and back.

Holy cow Wednesday

Jogged 4km to see Carl this morning. Did a strength session including squats with weights, lots of lateral core work and calf strengthening stuff with 60kgs on my shoulders.

At lunch it was out for the usual 19km route with Wildman, Todd, BK, Andy and RMR. The latter were running very slowly and BK dropped off the pace going up Ocean St so it was Todd, Wildman and myself for the rest of the run. Felt really good today although towards the end my legs were just numb rather than tired. Pretty convenient as it numbed the pain. Wildman is getting stronger with every run, although he did cut slightly short going down the Argyle Steps. Todd is also on very good form. Got a shout from LF Charlie near the end and then who should we see but Young Timmy claiming he tried to run with us but got all confused with the meeting time. I think he did a 6km jog instead.

1:23:43 so slightly quicker in these cooler conditions. Achilles is slightly sore due to my calves being so tight. Need to get the Thera Roll onto them.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

The HuRT Squad took a big leap forward today. All it needed was a drop in temperature to the low 20's and suddenly everyone is running all 14 reps (even Fenton, I say to audible gasps of breath) and doing them quickly at that.

Big turnout today but with the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth docked in the harbour, the crowds around Farm Cove were massive. Amazed we had no stacks, but fortunately the rain started during rep 3 which dispersed everyone pretty quickly.

Everyone seemed to be going off at a rate of knots in the first few reps, with Wildman, Quentin, Bartles, JF, Jason, new young bloke John, Todd, Timmy and Andy all to the fore. I seemed to be way back for the first half of each rep then would pick my way through in the second half. Still, Quentin and Wildman were ahead at least for the first 7 reps. First Gate to Gate was just over 3 mins and then each one after that was between 2:55 and 2:59 (3:13 - 3:17 pace). The last four picked the pace up with the penultimate rep run in 2:52 (3:09 pace) and the final rep all out with Quentin in 2:41 (2:57 pace). With just 60s rest these are supposed to be run at Half Marathon pace so this was way too quick. I don't know about this session. JF was saying that if we're maintaining (or even increasing) the pace, then it can't be wrong but I'd always thought the intention was to train the body to run at that pace with relative ease. Even though I felt OK, 3:15 pace is not relatively easy.

Good to see such a big crowd finish and all on good form. The warm weather training has done us good. Wildman will be killing us all in 2 weeks if he keeps on training. So will Timmy.

Easy Monday

Standard Monday route but with deviations due to the open air cinema and liner in Barangaroo. All up about 15km. Wildman was out and is getting stronger each run. Andy and Todd were the only two to do the whole thing with me. Not sure what happened to the likes of MC, Luke, Indrajeet and Laura who had also started with us. Forgot to start my watch so no idea about time but it started very easy with the pace increasing the whole way. Felt very bouncy by the end so feeling confident. Had the pleasure of bumping into Mr Durante near the Art Gallery.

Sunday recovery

Manly 10.2km route untimed, stopping at nearly every bubbler in the 33C heat but worse, humidity.

Felt shocking for the first 4km, then gradually started to feel more comfortable and was pleased to have got out by the end.

Bush Run Part 3

Caught up with Dickyboy, Quentin and his mate Sam at 6.30am for what turned out to be my longest run yet. Had been a bit worried about how I'd feel but needed have as I woke up feeling pretty good today. We headded out to Manly Dam, then up to Warringah Aquatic Centre, then via Forestville Ferrets grounds crossing Warringah Road to Garigal National Park, then around to Roseville Bridge, then back along the Nosh Track all the way to Seaforth Oval cutting back the quick way home.

A hell of a lot of bush in there. Total time on legs 2:47:51. Probably only about 32km though given how technical a lot of it was. Absolutely farked now. Quentin is looking strong.

Easy Friday

Wow. Amazing how good you can feel after a few days rest and taking it easy all week. Still a bit tight in the chest and not completely over the man flu yet.

Today was the usual Monday/Friday route but cutting short up through the City when reaching CQ on the return. Rob, Marty, Craig, Indrajeet, Simon and BW were out. 53:44 for 12km.

Hoping to be well enough for a long one tomorrow morning. Dickyboy and Quentin each have plans for a long one early on, I'm trying to marry the two proposals...

45kms for the week. Bit of a step down due to illness but I probably needed the rest.

Family Photo