The Pontipines

45mins tempo today and a good crowd on another beautiful Winter's day. I say Winter, but checking out the forecast in London it's 3C warmer here and there's not a cloud in the sky.

I set off with Bartles, Timmy, Tucks and Enda and, feeling good, pushed on a bit running with Bartles. We ran really consistently until the turn, picked it up a bit and then at 8km my legs just slowed down. They'd been feeling pretty dead the whole way but my breathing was fine so thought they'd come good later on. But between 8 and 9km I ran a 3:42 so decided there was no point flogging a dead horse and decided to stop at 10km and jog home the short way.

Plainly still got the marathon in my legs, but it'll come good at some stage. Very consistent times today until the 8th km:

3:30, 3:31, 3:32, 3:30, 3:30, 3:29, 3:34, 3:26, 3:42, 3:30.

35:18 for 10km.

Tucks was taking it easy after some monster bush run on Sunday. Barts finished well and Fats is showing some real form but man of the moment is Dom who is hitting form beautifully for C2S. He's got some real pace and now seems to be backing it up with some stamina.

Female Field (this will be patchy):

Shot Put: Adams
Javelin: Spotakova
Hammer: NFI
Discus: NFI
High Jump: Lowe
Long Jump: Proctor
Triple Jump: Savigne
Pole Vault: Maurer
Heptathlon: Chernova

A bet was laid

Got home on Friday just in time to run to the bathroom and shout at the toilet 5 times in a row. Spent the next 24 hours either in bed feeling sorry for myself or being miserable to the rest of the family. I'm not pleasant to be around when under the weather. Needless to say I missed the Short Course XC but the boys did the job in my absence.

Felt better today so ventured out with the usual Monday crowd. I was feeling pretty average though after a couple of km and was planning on cutting short at 11km but by this time Rozza had joined us and was telling some interesting stories so I stayed on for the full 16km. He still claims not to be interested in running C2S despite donning the trainers again so I put $100 on the table and told him it was his if he could beat my man Bartles.

Rozza smiled and shook his head but I reckon he's considering it. Meanwhile, Barts emailed this arvo planning a monster run on Sunday to put some steel in his legs.

Oh, and I'm going dry for the rest of July and have cut out coffee. Had 4 cups of peppermint tea today. Life is dull.

Mens Field Events:

Shot Put: Reese Hoffa
Discus: NFI
Hammer: NFI
Javelin: Vesely
Pole Vault: Otto
High Jump: Robbie Grabarz
Long Jump: Mitchell Watt
Triple Jump: Christian Taylor
Decathlon: Ashton Eaton

I think I missed the Mens Steeple the other day. I'll go with my man Kemboi, the dancing wannabe murderer.

Shock! Scandal!

OMG!

Caught up with Mr Ace, TB, Gerry and John Bowe for the usual route and bumped into Mermaid Em around Farm Cove. Now, Em was on J-Fen, Indrajeet and Angus's winning trivia team on Tuesday night but in two shock revelations she divulged that:

(a) there "had been a bit of Googling going on", and when she saw the shock on my face she added; "but everyone was at it, right?"; and

(b) Em had recently been to a Macquarie Bank quiz night where; "most of the questions were the same ones Dave asked".

So Kanser's a lazy arse and half our squad are cheats!

I could barely carry on running. Managed to trot out 15km in 65:50 though on a beautiful day.

Tomorrow is the Short Course XC champs and with Tucks, Tongey, Robbie Neill, Fats, Kevin Robertson and Richie R running it should be very competitive. Will just have to see how the legs hold up. It'll be my 5th consecutive weekend of racing. If you count my 20km hilly tempo (which was as hard as a race) it's 7 weeks in a row, which has to be a record.

Women's Gold Medallists (Track):

100m: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
200m: Allyson Felix
400m: Amantle Montsho
800m: Fantu Magiso
1500m: Mariem Alaoui (before she's busted)
5000m: Vivian Cheruiyot
10000m: Tirunesh Dibaba
110m H: Sally Pearson
400m H: Melaine Walker
Steeple: Milcah Chemos
Marathon: Mary Keitany

New Hickson Road

We had roadwork going on along Hickson Road so MC made the long overdue decision to switch the session to Barangaroo. You always pick up the wind along Barangaroo but it wasn't too bad today, slightly behind on the odd reps and against on the evens. We decided to measure a 1.2km on the Garmins (slightly longer than the traditional route) and funnily enough we all reached the same spot. I was in the front on the first but then Richie H told me to calm down and remember I'd run a marathon only 11 days ago. So I eased a bit but not too much, feeling pretty comfortable. Rep times were:

3:44
3:50
3:52
3:51
3:46

All between 3:05 - 3:10 per km. I reckon it's about 6-7 seconds slower than the usual Hickson Road route (on the way out). J-Fen, Julien and Aparna's boyfriend were upfront going well (Julien monstering us on the final rep) with Dom also running really well.

Not feeling great this arvo but I've been abusing my body with beer and the Tour de France. Stayed up to watch all of last night's stage. As Sammy said this morning, it finally looks as though cycling could be clean, when the sprint finish is won by someone looking as though they are cycling through treacle.

Finally, been thinking about the Olympics a lot (I travel 3 weeks today) and have decided on my Gold Medallists (Mens track today):

100m: Blake
200m: Bolt
400m: Santos
800m: Rudisha
1500m: Kiprop
5000m: Gebremeskel
10000m: Farah
110m H: Liu Xiang
400m H: Greene
Marathon: Kipsang

HuRTS 3 min reps

First HuRT session in a while for me but the crowds haven't diminished. Everyone who is anyone was there. I pushed the session a bit, particularly the 7th rep but after that my quads felt smashed so cut short at 10 reps. Will have to start some proper training again soon as I'm turning into a lazy arse.

Then in the evening it was off to the Benny St fundraiser. Had a great night and drank far too much beer among many friends. Kanser set the toughest trivia night I've ever attended, with a heavy emphasis on All things Irish. J-Fen, Indrajeet, Angus and co were quickest on the iPhones so took out the first prize. Durante won a running technique session from Keith - behind the Tiger probably the person who least requires it. I won jack-sh*t. Thank God Kanser didn't push harder in making me sing I Feel Fine.

Getting back into it

Charlie's birthday party this morning so just an easy 12.5km with Billy on his bike this afternoon - to Shelley but back the short way via the playpark. Averaged 4:18's but to be honest the legs are still feeling a bit dead and was happy to cut short.

Couple of photos from Charlie's party this morning...

State Road Relays

First up was the kids, Billy running very well but Bec struggling a bit. I think she's going through a growth phase. They both then ran with Charlie on the 2km fun run and he ran all the way and was stoked.

For the relays, it was a case of the HuRT Squad old guard forming the 35+ team with Tucks leading off, followed by Fats, Dicky H then me. We also had an Open team of Andrew Wilson (fresh from 4th in the Striders 10km earlier in the morning), Dicky P, young kid Taiki and supposedly EJ, but he was a no-show so I made Tucks run twice (but didn't tell him until after the first leg).

We though ASICS Wests would be our main rivals but hadn't counted on Sutherland entering a strong team including Kevin Robertson, Nick Bennett and Greg Graves. Fortunately the boys ran really well (Fats in particular) and handed over to me with a 10s lead on Wests and 15s on Sutherland. I just went out hard and tried to hold on. Felt fine on first lap but felt the marathon in the legs up the hill on the second. But we won! See pic.

Special mention for Amandas cakes. They were sensational. When we were lining up for our medals Fats told me he was contemplating a third. I thought he was talking about kids until he corrected me and said he was talking about cakes.

Some fine results in the Suncorp 10km this morning. In particular Andy and J-Fen scoring good PBs. Tucks and I were talking only yesterday about how 10km PBs are to be savoured as they don't happen often.

Gold Coast Marathon - 16th in 2:34:00

Rocked up on a beautiful morning having walked from Main Beach. Said a few hellos to JB, Macca and TB before listening to some chap murder the National Anthem. I don't bother with a warm up before the marathon, figuring that 42.2km is enough for the day.

We were off and I was feeling great. The Garmin was all over the place but I think I went through the first km in 3:26. I wasn't too fussed though as it felt fine and I thought it would be a few seconds in the bank. Settled into a group of 3 ladies and a couple of blokes so it was a decent crowd. And it stayed this way for quite a while. We were regularly ticking off 3:35's and if they drifted to a 3:38 I'd push the pace again. Gradually though the group was whittling down. At the turnaround at 16km I could see JB about 30s back but running alone, with Macca and Tongey about 10s behind him. I was surprised about Tongey but was expecting him to come through in the second half, remembering what he did at the SMH Half.

We caught a guy from the ADF at 17km and by that stage it was me, ADF chap and Ogi the second placed lady. This was the best bit of the race. I was leading the group but getting loads of shouts from the runners going in the opposite direction which really lifts your spirits. By 20km ADF chap had dropped so it was down to me and Ogi. I was working harder to keep the kms at 3:35s but told myself just to get to 30km where the real work would begin. I picked up what i thought was my Thomas the Tank Engine drinks bottle at 20km only to discover it was a Buzz Lightyear one with Dave Kane written on the side! Had a bit of a chuckle to myself but then was a bit pissed off as he didn't tape a gel to it.

Coming back into Main Beach suddenly 3 chaps come back to us paying for the early pace. Its not nice but very satisfying to start picking people off in the latter stages of the race. Here I really started to work hard, determined to keep the pace consistent at least until 35km. It paid off as the results show I had the 7th fastest split between 30 and 35km. The splits went as follows:

5km: 17:45
10km: 18:04
15km: 18:02
20km: 18:01
Half: 1:15:56
25km: 18:13
30km: 18:09
35km: 18:27
40km: 19:04

Ogi was still with me and at 35km as I started to fade a bit she started to lead for the first time in the race. I just held on to her telling myself every extra km she could drag me through would be a bonus. Coming back over the little hill over the bridge at 37.5km was the doing of me though. I was now knackered. Saw Gary an JB by the road at 38km and I was struggling, the next 2km were just trying not to fall apart and went on for ages. I was still doing 3:48's though so thought I might still sneak under 2:34. Before 40km I did some maths and thought I'd need to go through in 2:25:30 to have a shot. I went through in 2:25:50 so thought it was out of reach so just tried to get home. Every time I tried to pick up the pace my hammies would seize up so it was a balancing exercise at this point. Hit the crowds coming towards the finish and immediately my spirits lifted - it's a fantastic feeling. Turned the final corner to see 2:33:45 on the clock. I thought "I can do this!", I just need to sprint. Tried to sprint but my hammies seized, so I tamely crossed the line in 2:34:00, only temporarily rueing it.

I was chuffed to bits. Ogi said something in Japanese and we hugged having shared 2.5 hours of pain. Had a good chat with Mark Tucker then watched Macca and TB cross the line. News coming in wasn't good on Kanser or JB. They're both fit though and will regroup to run a good one soon.

Then got a bit emotional like I do after long races. Pulled myself together and had a few lively beers with Macca, Glen and Bartles before heading off to Moo Moos with the rest of the squad. Don't remember much after that but I've for a cracking hangover.

Almost there

8.5km jog around the beaches, 5km with the kids. Almost there. In one piece for now. News from Macca is that a bandaged up bloke will haul his ass to the start line despite not having run in 11 days and running on a wing and a prayer. Would have expected nothing less form him.

HuRTS Gate to Gates

Trotted down and dawdled around at the back of the reps with Ray. Put in a few 100m strides to stretch the legs. Ran the last rep at target marathon pace which was less comfortable than I was hoping for. Hey ho.

All post excellent massage in the morning courtesy of JSM's no.1.

Daniel Batman

Easy 4.7km with the kids this morning and then 11.3km with MC, Mr Ace, French Jules, Jonathan and others at lunch.

4 days to go. Just want to be on the startline now, everything else feels like going through the motions.

RIP Batman.

More easy running

Just an easy 10km at lunch on my work 10km route, untimed.

Fucking annoyed with Athletics NSW not counting our Men's Over35 team result from the XC at the weekend. This was their response:


"Hi Tom,

Thank you for your enquiry and congratulations on a great run on Saturday.

The rules for cross country and team competitions in the winter running
events are on the web:
https://assets.imgstg.com/assets/console/document/documents/Winter%20Running
%20Rules%20120424.pdf

The process for calculating team results at the adidas Winter Series
competitions, including the NSW XC Championships, allows an athlete to run
up (for juniors) or down (for masters) an age group. The simple requirement
is that if an athlete is not going to be entered in his/her "natural"
age-gender, then the team manager must complete a form to modify the
"natural" age-gender and submit this prior to the race. These forms were
available at check-in on the day, and also available on the website prior to
the day of competition.

https://assets.imgstg.com/assets/console/document/documents/Agegender.pdf

By looking at the Age Group results for the final event at 3:00pm, we can
see that you (Tom) were in the 35-39 age group; Nigel Wickham and EJ Davie
were in the 40-44 age group; Paul Bruning was in the 45-49 age group. Teams
are in 10-year categories i.e. 35-44 and 45-54.

If Sydney Striders were to have a team, Paul Bruning could have been
submitted as a change of age-gender and entered into a 35-44 team. This did
not happen.

I recall a discussion with EJ before the 3pm race where I explained that if
all the athletes were competing in their "natural" age group, then no
paperwork was required by the team management. EJ expressed his opinion
that everyone in his proposed team was within the natural age group for
competition.

We have tried hard to make the process clear, and I spent some time on
Saturday explaining to many clubs how to enter their teams. I hope that
this helps to explain the situation and I look forward to seeing you at
other events this winter.

Regards,
Janet."

Monday squad

Easy 16km with the Monday squad in I don't know what. Frickin freezing. Weather like this on Sunday would be ideal.

NSW XC Champs - 13th in 43:42

Spent the early part of the afternoon cheering on Bec and Billy in the under 12's (getting a team bronze in the process which they were thrilled with) then Maggie and Charlie were up in the 1km fun run. Finally got around to the Men's Open race and, after thinking it may be a low quality race, saw Jeff Hunt, Nipper, Russ Chin and a load of other names front up.


I set off at a pace I thought was relatively easy but was surprised to be running with Robin Whiteley and, when we went through 1km in 3:08, realised that it must have been the excitement of running after 4 days rest. Sure enough on the first hill Robin pulled ahead and Chadi came past, followed by Jack Colreavy.


From then on I was pretty much running solo but aware that Richie Roberts was closing in. I felt comfortable on the flats and downhills but was losing time on the ups. Spoke to Richie who said he got within a couple of yards of me in the monster hill on the final lap but that I was pulling ahead on the downhills. Only scare was my shoelace (the one with my timing chip) coming undone in the final 1.5km. No time to stop to tie it but the tag was about to fall off on the final corner. Luckily limped over the line. Felt OK at the end as it wasn't a mad scramble to the line so hopefully no harm done before next week.


Only problem is stomach cramps since the race. I'm hoping it's due to running on no food all day other than a couple of doughnuts from the Berry Famous Donut van.


Nice to stand on the podium for 3rd place in the Over 35's with the kids cheering on. Unfortunately with Chadi and Robin in the same age group anything better than bronze was highly unlikely.

Here is the coolest video of the course which shows you a bit of what it's like, but not enough detail on the bugger of a hill at the back end...

I'm being tested...

3 kids off school today sick. I'm put to but a Sars mask.

Easy 10.3km at lunch with MC, Springer, Mr Ace, Rob, BW and Emma. Now off to Gerringong for a weekend as close to Nowra as anyone dares go.

10 more days

10.3km plod along the beaches in 55:30, first half with Bec.

Last long 'un

4.62 km with the kids (24:30 for Bec, Billy up ahead) then a run to work with Dicky G via Queenscliff (taking the route via the playpark). 18.7km in 80:00.

HuRTS 45min Fartlek

No MC today so I mumbled some vague instructions then took off, intending to take it easy. Bartles and J-Fen pushed ahead while I ran with Tucks and Fats. Tucks and I started working harder around Farm Cove to bridge the 20m gap which we managed by the Stone Gates, with Tongey having jumped out from the bushes to join us.

Stayed like this until the Opera House on the way back. At times I felt good and pushed the pace, other times I just stuck in the group. I was starting to feel a bit tired at the O House though so deliberately eased off trying to chase a marauding Tongey, which would have been fruitless in any case. Bartles and I ran together from here to finish in 44:52. Average pace 3:30.

Seeded!

Today was a run with the Hurt Squad Monday crowd which I haven't done in weeks. Nice and easy 16km in approx 70mins. Beautiful day.

Got a new app on my iPad for Blogger. It's supposed to let me do funky things but I can't make head nor tail of it.

A : We start from here..

Off the rails

Had a few too many beers in celebration on Friday (hence the fruity language in the last post) so Saturday was a write off feeling as though I was coming down with a fever. Went to Ben's 40th on Sat night and pretty much knew I needed the sleep and wouldn't race mini-mos early Sunday morning. Had plenty of rest, went to watch the kids (Billy recovering well after a stack on the start line) and slept watching the US Open golf in the arvo.

Headed out at 4.30pm with Bec and Charlie for the usual 14km route, feeling tired to start with but better as the run went on. 61mins for 14.2km. To be honest, I've been feeling pretty flat all week after the big weekend and a tough Tuesday run. But I've done very little since. Need to hold things together and manage the next 13 days carefully. Laying off the booze will be a good start. But Kirst did buy a nice bottle of Pinot for this evening...

Well done to Kanser on his 33:50 this morning. It's been a while since he's been sub34 so all looking good.