Easy Wednesday

Just back from State of Origin game out at Homebush. Hope the result isn't a portent regarding my battle with the Queenslander Dave Sweeney on Sunday morning.

Very easy 12km with Serg, Durnate, Robdog, MC and Muz at lunch today in 56 mins. Much talk about how Serg has to do the HuRT Squad proud and beat the HuRT Squad defector Big Mikey H. I'm confident of a Serg victory. He talks a good game but to be fair to him always performs on the occasion. MC wouldn't stop going on about how the Irish 10km courses are short. We tried to tell him that their measuring devices were just the same as the rest of the world's but he was having none of it...

HuRTS 5min reps

Sprinted down (running late) to a different group than usual with no stalwarts such as Kanser (breaking records in Ireland), Serg, Robbie or Durante (doing their own secret fast training which sounded a bit too quick for me). Ran the first 4 reps quickly with Fats, Charlie, Muz and Big Dave Clarke in about 3:15 pace then the final 4 reps comfortably with Mike Race and English Andy in about 3:40 pace. Felt tired after the first 4 (more tired than usual - we were getting to the big stone so pushing them quite hard but worried it was the effects of the cold) but fine by the end.

Big Dave Clarke was right up there for 7 and looked strong. KMK did usual latest thing of starting easy and getting quicker all the way through (leading Charlie on the last rep). At this rate, Macquarie will be hard to beat at JPM. Kanser might be looking at B team...

Easy Monday

Missed lunch run with the boys due to a last minute conference call so ran home instead. Nice and easy but strolling along quickly. 29:59 at Toyota Garage and 56:46 all up. Starting to get the early stages of tendonitis in my left achilles (last time it was the right) but I'll worry about it after Sunday.

Medium Sunday

Shortened Sunday run today due to GC next week. 2 laps of the flat Manly 10km route run nice and easy with the Tiger. 46:50 and 45:10 for those loops. 21km all up in 1:35 something. Another beautiful day. Would be perfect if conditions were like this next week.

Back to it

15km Manly route (Campbell Parade, Queenscliff, Shelley, North Head and straight home) with two 10km race pace stretches along the Manly mile (5:11) and then the final 2km of the North Head course (3:13 and 3:02). Felt pretty lethargic today, either as a result of lazy legs after 2 days rest or recovering from illness. Beautiful day for running though, no wind, crystal clear and cool albeit warmer than the last week. 64:25 all up.

Bec was asking this morning when the next race for her age group was. Just discovered that the 2.25km Junior Dash at GC has a 5-6 yr old category so we might try to enter her and Billy. Only problem is it runs during the Half.

No run

No run yesterday (client lunch and getting over cold) or today (recovering from 9 hour marathon client lunch). Hoping an enforced taper will do me good but a bit concerned as I took two days off last week too. Big day today for Maggie and she finally mastered the art of crawling....

Easy Wednesday

Ditched the idea of my 19km run to work with marathon pace stretches this morning as my chest was feeling too tight. Felt better by lunch so went out and did 19km with Serg instead. Easy pace, quickened up naturally going around Centennial to finish in 1:21:24 (4:17s). Another beautiful day.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

Tim - I would have swum across if it had been summer, although two people have independently told me that channel is full of sharks. Probably just of the toe-nibbling variety though.

I won't go on about my cold any more as I'm beginning to bore even myself.

Didn't know what to expect today after a tough run on Sunday and [edit: deleted by the boredom police], but rocked up to meet the usual hungry crowd. Set off at a decent pace with Serg leading the way and a front group that included Charlie, Robbie (getting married next month - congratulations mate), Ray (again, putting some effort in), Fats, Muz and myself with Durante just behind. I pushed in my usual section between the hills and we ended at the Stone Gates in 9:44. Given the increased pace we are getting on these reps, we decided just to stop there as we are running out of space. It's exactly 2.9km to the gates so that's about 3:21 pace. Much faster on the way back courtesy of Robbie and Serg for a 9:18 (3:12 pace). Robbie then set off quickly on the third (first km in 3:10) for 9:37 at the gates (3:19 pace) then Charlie paced the last rep until Serg pushed on around Farm Cove. I was dropped half way around by Serg, Charlie and Robbie but managed to pick it up again to finish just behind Serg in 9:05 (3:08 pace).

Another month and another improvement for this session. Felt great today. Beautiful cold, crisp and clear day well suited for fast running.

16km all up.

Bizarre Journey

Still suffering with this cold - slight headache, slight sore throat and very tired at work but not bad enough to feel as though I can't get out and run. So ran home after work. Running felt great - completely opposite to how I feel sat in my office chair.

Was strolling along very easily (30:27 at Toyota Garage) and then noticed a lot of traffic along Military Road. Reached Spit Bridge to find it was jammed open - see report here....http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/broken-bridge-causes-gridlock/2008/06/23/1214073146841.html Just happened to bump into Kevin Ferry (Strider and on the HuRTS email distribution) who was stuck in the same predicament. The only other route by foot is across Northbridge and Roseville Bridge which would add about another 17km. The alternative was to run back to the City and try to find a cab along the way. So, instead we decided to have dinner and a drink at Harry's Fish Cafe (the first building on the other side of the bridge in the picture attached), sitting by the window waiting to see if the bridge got fixed. Just after we saw the news reporters taking shots, an entrepreneurial water taxi driver poked his head in the window and asked if anyone wanted a lift to Manly - $20 a pop. So the whole restaurant jumped in. Just as we were chugging along in the boat under the Bridge (by now 10pm), the Bridge came down.

Very strange but very entertaining. Didn't do any good to my cold though as it was freezing out there and I was only in shorts and a T-shirt.

About 10km for the shortened run.

Back to Manly Flat

Took the last two days off feeling crook with a cold. Couldn't face another day off and the cold didn't seem to be progressing so decided kill or cure was the only option. Jogged down Suwarrow in the pitch black at 6am this morning and planned on running 3 loops of my flat 10km route getting progressively faster. The session worked out perfectly. 10km loops went:

42:50, 40:16; 38:01.

Felt better as the run went on. Normally I struggle from 20km but was running the second loop looking forward to picking it up again on the third. A real confidence booster - Thursday proved that my speed is OK and this session showed the endurance is fine. Just need to make sure I don't go mad in the first 3km at Gold Coast and a PB must be on the cards. Catching Dave Sweeney may not be so straightforward though as he seems to be flying in training.

Jogged home after for 31km all up. Shoulders and neck feel stiff now so just hope I haven't made myself more ill than I should have.

Beautiful day when the sun came up. Clear blue skies, cool and no wind. Manly looks great at this time of year without the crowds. Bumped into Pete Walker running with the pram near Shelley Beach.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

This one hurt today. Better turn out than ever (Serg, Charlie, Tucks, Durante, Muz, Robbie Neal (first time appearance), Thurston, Fats, Kanser, MC, KMK, RMR and a host of others) set it up for a quick one. Serg and Thurston went off quickly running sub3 mins per km for the first 90 seconds, I then made sure the floats were kept honest - they ended up being run at about 3:30 - 3:35 per km. We managed to hit the top of each of the hills just before the floats ended which made life a bit easier. The trick to running this session well is to put the effort in on the first two 60 seconds reps heading up Art Gallery Road.

Reached the Stone Gates with 20 seconds to spare - dawdled as we reached the road as we still had 5 seconds to go and didn't want to run down the hill! At this point Serg and I were about 10m ahead of Tucks and Robbie, with Thurston and Durante just behind and Fats and Muz just behind them (not sure whether Fats and Muz reached the Stone Arch or not - this being important as I'll be ordering the T-Shirts shortly).

Just tried to keep the speed up on the way back - Serg and I running together, with Durante until Farm Cove when he dropped off slightly. All up 6.1km averaging 3:19s on the way up and 3:13s on the way back. Knackered at the end.

3.5km jog back for 10km all up.

Long Wednesday run to work

19km run to work via Queenscliff lagoon with the usual 4 marathon pace stretches. This run was my bread and butter last Spring and I'm sure it was the reason I ran a good Sydney Half. I did it every Wednesday during August, September and October - basically as a punishment session following a disappointing City to Surf. My quickest time back then was 82:09 (and never varied more than 90 seconds from that). Today I ran it in 78:57. This is my problem at the moment. The training seems to be going really well but the performance in the races just doesn't seem to back it up. I'm hoping this is because I haven't been tapering and that the right preparation for Gold Coast will put that right.

Beautiful day this morning - finally the rain has cleared and it was bright blue skies with no wind. Felt very tired - particularly at the start of the run with recent training in my legs. Managed a very controlled run up Parriwi Rd - feeling better than I've done it in ages. But struggled on the quick reps along Military and particularly the Harbour Bridge.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

I always think of this session as being the least onerous of the Tuesday sessions, but in fact it involves more fast running and more "time on feet" than any other session we do. The reps were all between 950m and 910m, which works out at averaging 3:09 to 3:17 per km per rep. The 3:17's felt comfortable but the 3:09's felt as though I was having to put effort in.

Good crowd today - the front group was myself with Serg, Durante (going very well), Charlie and Steve Thurston with Ray occasionally bobbing in and out and Tucks occasionally putting some effort in (generally he looked as though he was running them at marathon pace). Loads of others including Tim L, Kanser, MC (who looked very strong today finishing the 14th rep quickly), KMK, RMR, Muz, Springer (making a long anticipated re-appearance), Enda etc.

Felt tired from the very start as a result of recent training but running quickly when tired is what I need. 1km run there and 2.5km warmdown for 17.5km all up. Not looking forward to tomorrow's run.

Seems that Bec wasn't faking her pull-out of the Mini-mos. She, Billy and Kirst have all been diagnosed with Tonsilitis. If you don't see any posts in the next few days, you know what's happened....

Easy Monday

15km route around Centennial Park with Springer, Ray, Kanser, Durante, MC and Steve Thurston (Durante's workmate and ex-8:31 3000m SC runner). Nice and easy. Cool and wet. 65:18. Didn't feel yesterday's run in my legs as much as I had expected which is good as it's a big 2 weeks ahead.

Long Sunday incorporating Mini-Mos (6th in 34:39)

Ran to Mosman (7km in about 31 mins), quick few strides then ran the Mini-mos. Strangest start as the preferred runners had acres of space. A few stars (Marty Dent, Scott Westcott etc.) and then me. Set off quite quick just behind Jeremey Horne (Tom Crasti going off even quicker with the real guns) and went through the first 2kms in 3:08 and 3:17. Then the hills appeared, the wind started to blow and being in no-mans land, it was just a case of trying to keep it honest against the watch. Clocked 4km in 13:30 and 6km in 20:24. Went the wrong way a couple of times, once when Tim C who was doing the Striders STaR shouted out to me. I was doubtful of the previous turn so stopped, started to run back then realised I was right the first time. The marshalling was very average, at the next turn there were two ladies who were facing the wrong direction accepting a cup of coffee when I approached - I had to shout out to them to work out which way to go. KMK was getting closer as a result of this. Very hilly final section to finish 6th in 34:39. Worst 10km time in 2 years (first time over 33:30 in over a year) but in the context of a tempo run in the middle of a long Sunday run it's not too bad.

After the race I ran for 7kms to the pick up point for Bec but received a call from Kirst saying she was still ill so then ran home. Very tired when I eventually got home - a little over 30km in 2:05.

Easy trundle

Very easy 8km around Manly route including an extra section to the pharmacy to get some Nurofen for Bec (not good news with her first race tomorrow). 35:51. Picked up our numbers today - Bec is number 2133 and I'm number 5. Hopefully it will mean people will think I'm in the ilk of Marty Dent, Brett Cartright etc........ but just having a bad run.

Flakey - Durante is easy sub-9 these days. He was 9:03 back in November run by himself and is much fitter now. I just don't think Kanser realises how painful the final 3 laps of a 3km race are.

Easy Friday

11km easy run around Botanical Gardens to under the Harbour Bridge and back. Met up with Durante, Serg, Enda, Kanser and Springer. Nice sunny day but a bit of a cool breeze. Passed Rich H, Christian and Hamburglar (the old ING team) running the opposite direction.

Kanser offered $1,000 on Durante beating me over 3000m. I'm considering taking him up on it but might need to lay off my risk a little. This was after he heard he ran 3:56 over 1500m in Year 12. He's been eating a few pies since then though so I'm a little more confident...

HuRTS Hickson Road

Was dreading this session as my legs still felt tired after the last couple of days and this is not the session to go into feeling anything less than on top form. No Tucks or Charlie (absent since SMH Half) but Serg, Durante, Ray, Kanser, the Judge, Muz, MC, KMK, RMR, Tim's L and C, Mat K and Rich M among others all showed up making it a good crowd.

Reps went as follows:

3:35; 3:28; 3:32; 3:25; 3:30

Legs felt tired all the way through so pleased to still keep the times consistent. I'd feel OK for the first 200m, struggle in the middle part of each rep (dropping off whoever I was running with) then would feel stronger in the final 300m and make up some ground. Ran reps 1 and 2 just behind Serg. On rep 3 he and Ray (finally making some effort in these HuRTS sessions) set off like hares and were a good 50m ahead at half way before slowing in the second half. Durante came up to my shoulder on that rep. Rep 4 Serg and I started 7 seconds behind the main group and found it easier chasing people hence the good time. Rep 5 I ran with Muz who dropped me at the bridge before I caught him again in the final 50m. Durante, KMK and the Judge ran a blinder way out front.

Pleased with being able to cope with the speed session after yesterday's long one. I'll repeat this format in the weeks up to Gold Coast. Have now booked flights and accommodation so it's all on and I'm getting excited about it. This race, City to Surf and JPMorgan NYC are the races I'll be tapering for in the near future.

Will be interesting to see how Durante and KMK fare against each other on Sunday. Durante should have him easy based on training sessions but it's amazing what a little confidence can do.

Added a photo of me and Mags at the weekend for the family, showing how much she's grown up recently...

Longer Wednesday

AM: Run into work after dropping off Billy. Added the usual 3 marathon pace stretches which felt good although I struggled over the bridge after really putting an effort in up Parriwi. 24:04 at Spit Junction and 53:05 all up (quick).

Lunchtime: Very easy 10km around the Botanical Gardens and Opera House to OPT and back, running with MC for the second half. 43:52. Bumped into quite a few running Corporate Cup, including Pete Truscott and Inhisshadow (plainly as keen to keep fit after becoming a father as I was), Springer and the Judge.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Not quite as big a crowd as last time we did this but still a good showing including Tucks, Serg, Muz, Ray, Kanser, Tim C, MC, Enda, Mat Kaley and with Fats joining after 5 mins. Felt comfortable from the word go today - probably as a result of taking Sunday off. I'll remember that in tapering for Gold Coast Half. Pushed the pace so so that by the Sebel it was down to Fats, Serg, Tucks and myself and then at the turnaround it was just Tucks and I - Serg suffering after a big run on Sunday. Turned at the end of the Hickson Road rep - so further than last time. Picked up Serg on the way back and the three of us just pushed on through to the end. Tucks said he clocked 10km on the Garmin at 33:49 and we finished at the final lamp post just short of the stone gates for 13.25km in the 45mins (3:23 per km).

Good session. Bit of a pick me up after the weekend but need to convert these sort of sessions into races.

Post script

When we were away in the Blue Mountains this weekend we came back to find a possum had built a home in the bookcase in our kitchen. We only discovered this this morning when all the fruit in our fruit bowl was half eaten. At first we blamed Charlie until Billy actually spotted the possum. Kirst tried and failed to eject him all day so it was left to me when I got home. Finally managed it (and have blocked the catflat which he entered by) after taking a few photos. Here are a couple. The elder two kids thought he was fantastic, but Charlie was completely freaked out by him. In fact, you now only need to say the word "possum" and he bursts into tears.

Bilpin Monday

1 hour around Bilpin on a cool misty morning. Beautiful running weather.

Striders 10km - North Head - 10th in 33:00

Well, it was all set up but I was just a bit mentally weak. Had a telling conversation with Serg afterwards where he said he got to 7km and thought; "it's just a 3km rep from here". I got to 7km and thought; "if I just hold this pace I shouldn't be in too much pain".



Set off sensibly with Tucks. I didn't wear a watch and heard only one split - 1st km in 3:10 which was good. I just ran with Tucks and one other chap for the first 4km - Serg having gone off quick with the large front group and having dropped off the back. Then between 4 and 5km up the hill Tucks dropped me and closed in on Serg. From then on I was by myself. I found I was running quick at times but obviously losing concentration and dropping further off the pace at others. I finised with a quick last km but without a clock at the end I had no idea what time I had run. To discover I missed out on a 32:xx was disappointing - I'd have done it if I had a watch on. Most disappointing thing though was not being able to push myself into the pain zone - finished feeling as though I hadn't given 100% which I hate.



Lessons learnt were:



(a) wear a watch - always seem to end up by myself and the watch is the only way to keep things honest in those circumstances;
(b) need to introduce more tempo runs. Interval work is great but tempo runs teach you how to endure pain;
(c) start working my Wednesday run more, either through marathon pace work or length or both. I feel as though I'm wasting it at the moment.

Some great runs by the HuRT squad. Particular mentions to Kanser on his 34:15 pb - a great run meticulously planned and perfectly executed. Great to set a target and see it through. I knew he was on for a big one based on his pre-race nerves. KMK had a great first ever 10km in running 34:07 and Mat Kaley ran 33:50 - a 70s improvement from Lane Cove. Serg showed great bottle to fight back from being dropped by Tucks at 6km.

Easy Friday

9km at 4:40 pace around the Botanical Gardens with Muz, Serg, Durante and Ray. All set for tomorrow but a shame that Robbie won't be there. Serg can hardly contain himself - he had to have an ice bath last night to calm himself down. Conversation went a bit quiet when he explained that it was his Dad who added the ice......

Big showdown set for Kanser and the Tiger. I've got money on Kanser so I don't want any mental weakness. Hopefully Uncle Dave will be pacing him to a low 34 time which I think will secure my money even if the Tiger decides to make an effort. Fingers crossed for MC. If you're reading this mate, my advice would be to ditch the watch and just race it. There will be plenty in the 34 bracket. RMR is a shoe-in for a 36:XX.

Minimos Training and HuRTS Gate to Gate

Early in the morning 3 laps of Campbell Parade (2km) with Bec after promising I'd take her training for Minimos. 11:16 - she ran all the way and finished with a good sprint.

7 x 909m off 2 minutes at lunchtime with HuRT Squad. Had a few too many beers last night so my legs felt pretty lethargic but still managed to bang out some quick ones. Reps went:

2:51; 2:56; 2:38; 2:54; 2:39; 2:51; 2:39

The 5th and 7th were run starting easier and pushing the second half, so pleased with the times considering it wasn't flat out all the way. Feeling pretty confident about Saturday but Serg has now progressed too much - he was flying today with a last rep in 2:32.

HuRTS 5min reps

8 x 5mins off 90 seconds. Good crowd despite the wet conditions. Ideal in fact, as it kept the tourists at bay. Ran the first couple with Durante, Muz, Tucks and Serg (the Judge joined in on rep 3) then the next 5 Serg and I pushed ahead and on the final rep Serg blasted it from the start leaving me trailing in his wake. Each rep was faster than the previous one. The first averaged 3:25 and the final 3 were under 3:10. Felt great today. Now just to take it easy for the rest of the week as Saturday's race should be a cracker. Chris Truscott is running which should mean he and Serg will set off like kids at a school fete, leaving Tucks and I to mop up the pieces in the final 2km. It's all so predictable.

Will be interesting to see how the rest of the squad perform. Kanser was strong on Sunday and was looking good on rep 6 today but then cut short (again) so whether he gets close to his PB will depend on how the speed endurance is. I'm predicting a final KM showdown with the Tiger. MC is back on form and just needs to run a sensible but committed race. Would be good to see RMR get under 6 minute miles.

East Monday

Caught up with Serg, Durante, Kanser, Muz, MC and Ray and ran around the shore to KPMG building and back (basically the 45 mins fartlek route). 14.5km averaging about 4:30s. Very wet. Plenty of conversation about Saturday's relays - results of which are attached here. If these are verified it'll be one of my best runs, beating Dave Criniti, Michael Harrison, Chadi, Robbie, Paul Arthur and Nick Bennett and within 5 seconds of Glenn, Jeremey Horne, Robin Whiteley, Barry Keem and Nick Cope.

Trying to work out how to attach the results... https://www.clubsonline.com.au/console/customitem/attachments/Results

Long Sunday with the boys

Kanser, Springer, Tim L, Durante and the Tiger came over for the same run as last week. 28km 2:09:25. Nice easy pace chatting all the way. Tucked into a fried breakfast afterwards. Good days.

ANSW State Relays

Arrived expecting to run second leg for the A team but found Glenn talking to Robbie on the phone who had been held up. So a quick shift of placings had me running first, Jeremey second, Glenn third and Robbie (when he arrived) last. I was pleased with this as I'd far prefer to run a race than a time trial.

The start of the race was like running x-country as a 10 year old. Up came the elbows and the first 200m was a mad sprint. Settled into quite a quick pace - had no idea how to pace myself for this so the intention was to go out hard and try to hold on. Didn't recognise anyone around me but by the second lap I could hear people barracking for Serg behind me. Started to struggle up the hill in the far field and was waiting for Serg to surge by. He did so just before the 3km mark with another bloke (who turned out to be Earl O'Brien). I latched on to them but struggled up the hill to the top of the course. Serg established about a 4 second lead which he maintained to the finish - just failing to catch Shannon Delaney.

So generally pleased - the time was good (about 12.32 - 32 seconds quicker than last year) but slightly disappointed not to have been able to hold onto Serg up the hill. Typical given recent training that I should finish one place behind him (9th to his 8th).

Not idea of any other times yet, although Durante said he ran 12:53 which is great running for a time trial. Great crowd in attendance - all the top names in NSW. Striders came 5th.

Easy Friday

Met up with Springer, Muz and Ray and ran a very easy 10km around the gardens and to Hickson Road and back. 48:23.

HuRTS 12 x 400m

Smaller crowd than Tuesday (always the same for the speed sessions) which included Ray, Tucks, Durante, MC, Kanser, The Judge, Tim C, Tim L, RMR, Mathew Kaley (still trying to think of a nickname) and Stephen.

They've marked out a new track around the oval which made it a lot easier to follow your line but added a few metres to the distance - we reckon it was 415m (or what we were previously doing was 385m). Ran most from the front with Durante on my shoulder threatening to come by. He did so on rep 7 , rep 11 and, of course, the final rep but pleasingly was "out-cowboyed" by The Judge who had plainly been taking it easy before then. Reps went as follows:

70, 70, 70, 70, 70, 70, 70, 70, 70, 69, 69, 68.

Tough today - really pushed them so saying the track is two seconds longer is an honest assessment. MC and Kanser thought the same. Pleased to stay in front of Durante for most of them and he must have been trying hard as he didn't put up a fight against the Judge on the final rep.

My legs are still wobbling now an hour after we finished.

Getting a bit worried about Saturday relays as I'm provisionally in the A team. Trying to persuade Glenn to put me back where I belong, first leg of B team so I get dragged around to a fast time.

Medium Long Wednesday

18.5km around Centennial twice but coming back the long way around Garden Island. Easy pace (1:21:38 so averaging 4:24s) but felt pretty tired up the steps towards the end, probably as a result of yesterday's session and 75kms in 4 days. Ran the whole way with Serg and the first half with Kanser, MC, Eamonn and Tim C. Lots of chat going on. At times, I think there were 6 conversations going on at once.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

Huge bunch today with all the usual suspects although missing Tucks and Charlie. Set off with Serg, Fats, Durante, the Judge and Tim C - Serg (hot off his 32:33 10km at the weekend) and Fats in particular keeping the pace very quick. We reached the stone gates with 10 seconds to spare so about 2.95km in the 10 minutes. This turned out to be the hardest rep. The return 2.95km was done in 9:31, ran with Serg with Tony dropping off towards the end. The third rep started easier before Serg and I pushed ahead and reached about 10 yards short of the first rep. We were then sensible on the last rep and didn't race it, returning in a steady 9:33.

Another good session under the belt, but buggered now. Great day for running again, no wind and cool. Good to see a large bunch finishing the session, including Kanser, MC andurante.

Easy recovery

13km run to work after dropping Billy off at Redlands House. 25:31 at Spit Junction and 56:21 all up. Felt very tired to begin with - yesterday's run obviously took more out of me than I felt at the time. Eased into it from Spit Junction onwards. Time not too slow though, just felt heavy legged. Another perfect day for running.

Long Sunday run

Same route as 2 weeks ago. 28km in 2:01:09. A beautiful day for running - cool, still and crystal clear. Went out at 2pm and felt much more comfortable than running at 6am, which is why it was so much quicker than last time. 71:11 at the stone arch after 4:06 and 4:02 for the final 2kms of the North Head route.

Short tempo

Not much time available today so short tempo run to end of Darling Point and back, my old route. Kings Cross short cut still blocked off so slightly longer than of old heading up Macleay St before going down to Rushcutters. 8km in 28:23. Felt great today, very bouncy although back of right knee was a bit stiff.

HuRTS Mona Fartlek

Good crowd as usual for this popular session. Set off quick (although with quite a headwind going around Farm Cove) with Serg and Fats just behind. Made sure the floats were honest so that 3 mins was just before the gates and the first 60 was 10m short of the hill beside the Boy Charlton. Fats dropped off on the second 90 leaving Serg and I to push on beyond the Stone Gates (reached those with 10 seconds of float remaining). Serg was strong all the way today, thought he might drop off on the 30s and he threatened to coming down the hill to Farm Cove but then pushed on again and really put the foot down on the last one to drop me by about 10m.

All up 6.05km so pretty pleased to be averaging under 3:20s including the recoveries and bearing in mind the wind.

Tucks and Kanser were being sensible and still taking it easy following the SMH Half. Fats was complaining of fatigue early on which wasn't surprising given how quick he was going on Tuesday. Serg's confidence is back.

Medium Long Wednesday

18.5km around Centennial and then Farm Cove and Opera House with Serg, MC, Muz, Durante and Springer. 1:20:41. Nice and easy although it got a little quicker towards the end. Followed up with an Easy Tiger massage, which was more painful.

Can tell that Serg is going to up the ante at Mona Fartlek tomorrow and that Fats won't be able to resist challenging him. I'll try and hang on.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Rocked up to HuRTS still feeling the effects of Sunday. Smaller crowd than usual (to be expected). Serg and Anthony (neither of whom raced on Sunday) and Fats (who did) were putting the efforts in but I hung around in the pack with Durante, Tucks, Kanser, Tim C, Tim L and MC. First few (at about 3:30 pace) felt sluggish but felt better as the session went on and the second 7 were much quicker, and less painful, at just under 3:20 pace.

Felt steady all the way through and nothing like the usual fatigue I feel on a Tuesday afternoon. Which is nice.

SMH Half - 18th in 1:13:21

Bit of a strange run. I'll get the excuses in first. Had a terrible preparation - Kirst was out at a Ball with her girlfriends until 1am and Maggie decided to start screaming at 11pm so only managed about 4 hours sleep. Stomach had also been giving me problems although before the race I had thought it was just nerves. Having said all that, I felt pretty good lining up at the start after catching up with Kanser, Charlie, Tucks, Mike, Durante et al beforehand.

I set off far too quick. My plan was to stick with Tucks for as long as possible and so for the first 5km I was in a group with Tucks, Chadi, Robin Whiteley, Anthony Farrugia, DrJH and Nick Bennett. Tucks made a sudden detour half way along Hickson Road to "do a Paula" which confused me for a second, I lost a bit of concentration coming under the Harbour Bridge and suddenly I was 10 yards off the back of the group, by myself. From then on, I was on a damage limitation exercise. I could see the group had fragmented up Hunter St and tried to concentrate on catching DrJH as I knew he always goes out quick and would likely be the one to tire in the 2nd half. I seemed to make good progress going out around Art Gallery Road and suddenly felt quite good again. However, I could hear footsteps behind which I guessed was Tucks and, sure enough, between 9 and 10km (outside the Art Gallery) he came past. We went through 10km in 34:10 - the only split I took.

I then hung on to Tucks until Argyle St (passing DrJH on Macquarie St), by which time we had also been joined by Robbie Neal. It's amazing how much easier it feels running with others - suddenly the pace seemed to be back in the legs again. However, up Argyle they created a gap and I was on my own again. DrJH caught me on Hickson Road and we ran together until the bottom of Hunter when he dropped back again. At this point, Mark Warren and another chap came flying by. I tried to cling on to them around the 3km Mrs Macquarie's Chair loop knowing I could salvage something by beating Mark (who had beaten me at Homebush). Also realised that if I lost touch with these two, Fats was likely to catch me, having noticed how much ground he had made up when I turned at Mrs Macquarie's Chair. So I clung on. Mark struggled up the hill just before the Art Gallery and the other bloke (who had pulled slightly ahead up the hill) wasn't extending the gap so just clung in. Realised I was catching him at the St Mary's u-turn so put in a final sprint into Hyde Park to pick up one more place. Robbie Neal must have slowed over the last few km as I wasn't far behind him in the end. Tucks finished strongly (of course) to pick up Farrugia and Glenn (who is plainly struggling). If he hadn't had the pit stop he'd have been ahead of Chadi.

Pleased to have beaten Mark and DrJH, a bit disappointed with the time but it's a tough old course. Not many PBs out there today, Fats being the notable exception with a great 1:13:4X. Durante also had a good run in 1:15:15. Richard P got a slim PB and Tim C is getting back to form with a 1:16 something but Kanser was well down on what I thought he'd run and nor was MC as quick as I thought he'd go.

Half's are a strange race. Realised today that you have to put a bit more thought into them that just "go out hard and hold on". Have bad stomach cramps now so will see how I pull up tomorrow.

(PS. HB - cheers for the photo. Thank god I hadn't realised how close Charlie Low was at that stage!)

Trundle

Very easy trundle around my Manly 7.5km route (run clockwise). 33:25. Michael - we should catch up for a run sometime.

Have managed to avoid the lurgy but not a heavy night of red wine. Got back home at about 2.30am last night after losing all my money at Poker. Was looking good at one stage.

Thinking of running without a watch tomorrow and just racing it. Felt as though I became a little obsessed with my time at Homebush - particularly towards the end when I should have been concentrating on beating people. I'm predicting big PBs for Tucks, Fats and Uncle Dave. Dave should go under 70 and I reckon Tucks will be under 71.

Easy Friday

Dave - my wife and eldest have since caught the vomitting bug so I wasn't being paranoid! I'm the only clean member of the family.

Very easy 10k run up to Kings Cross and around the Domain with Serg, Kanser and Enda. 48:45. Felt fine and nice to loosen the legs after yesterday's session. Now just to relax until Sunday and not drink too much red wine or smoke too many cigars at Poker Night tonight...

HuRTS Hickson Road

Back to where it all began, and an appropriate session given Sunday's race will involve 2 Hickson Road reps. I don't think I'll be running them as quick as we were today though.

5 x 1.2km (well, 1.18km and 1.17km to be exact). Reps went as follows:

3:34; 3:30; 3:30; 3:29; 3:30

That's averaging about 2:58 per km. Way faster than I've ever run them before. I think my best Hickson Road session prior to this was 10 May last year (again, just before the SMH Half) when I averaged 3:35s. Not as if I was on my own either. Another great crowd again today, similar to Tuesday but with Durante and Fats showing up too. Serg, Durante and I led the first couple with Tucks, the Judge and Charlie just behind. Serg and Durante really pushed hard on the third rep from the start. This is usually the make or break rep which determines how well the whole session goes. Clawed my way back to them with about 400m to go. Just held off Durante on the 4th rep then KMK appeared from nowhere on the final rep to keep them all honest. Loads of people running well - Durante was right there on all of them before holding back on the last, Serg still put in 3:32s on the final two reps and Kanser kept them all at or about 3:40. Tucks as usual loitered around the front keeping a low profile. Given how well everyone is going it will be interesting to see how the placings pan out on Sunday.

I've taken to washing my hands every half hour like a tourettes sufferer. Billy, Charlie and Maggie all projectile vomitted last night (I was amazed at how much Maggie must actually consume - whenever I feed her about 95% ends up on her face or on the floor), and Bec still has a hacking chesty cough. I'm contemplating just booking myself into the Sheraton for a few nights.

Easy recovery

Easy 16km recovery run with Durante, MC and Serg.

Out around Darling Point, Double Bay and almost Rose Bay then back adding a loop around Mrs Macquarie's Chair and the Opera House in 1:13:16 (averaging 4:35s). Beautiful day, easy pace, plenty of chat (as you'd expect with those 3) but the highlight was Durante pretending to be his brother when a loose soccer ball came our way at Double Bay only to plant his clearance straight into the head of a sweet 6 year old girl standing only 5 yards away. That only just surpassed Serg running into a Korean tourist and knocking his latest model digital camera to the floor.

We ran pretty quick after both of those episodes.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

1min quick, 30 seconds slow. Managed to program my watch this morning to beep alternately on 60 seconds and 30 seconds, which was very useful. Did waste about 2 hours of good billing time trying to achieve this though.

Huge crowd today, probably a record turnout. I counted 23 starters. Not sure why everyone was so keen on this particularly tough session and far fewer than 23 actually finished it. Notable absentees were Fats and Durante. I expect the latter was probably playing Badminton or mixed Netball. Perhaps he was reading about the Central Governor theory in order to engage in intellectual conversation with Kanser.

I set off quickly with Serg in order to spread the field a bit to avoid any disasters running down Art Gallery Road. We started at the Stone Pillars today as it's quicker for most people to get there from work. Given the first 2km is all downhill, it makes for a very quick start. We were quick also because of the large group of us upfront, including Serg, Tucks, Charlie, the Judge and Phil D. Serg, Phil and I largely took it in turns to push the pace. Reached the turnaround just short of the end of the Hickson Road rep when Phil D dropped out. It was then a war of attrition trying to get back to the start in the remaining time. The Judge dropped off at about 32 mins, Charlie at just before the Opera House, we went through the 10km mark in 34:35 (this is including the slow bits - would have been a PB until 2 years ago) then Serg dropped off at 11km complaining of an injury (hope it's nothing serious as he's starting to get quick again). Which just left Tucks and me, Tucks having been quietly hanging around in the background for most of the session.

We continued pushing the pace just failing to get back to the Stone Pillars in the 45 mins. All up, 13.09km at an average pace of 3:27 per km. The fast stretches were run between 3:10 and 3:15. On my very basic maths, that makes the slow sections averaging 3:59 per km.

One of my best sessions of the year. Felt very comfortable until the last 5 minutes. Looking forward to Sunday morning now. Tucks will be strong though.

Easy Monday

16km around and about the Botanical Gardens and up towards the cross with Serg, Ray, Muz and Enda. About 72 minutes. Felt full of running after yesterday's rest but it was good to have an easy run as this week is shaping up to be a tough one.

Long Saturday

Mothers Day tomorrow so headed out at 6am for 2 hours. Beautiful time of day to get out and perfect Autumn conditions again. Ran along Sydney Road to the Burnt Bridge Creek deviation, down to Campbell Parade, through to Queenscliff, around to Shelly, up around North Head and Fairfax walking track then completed my old 22km Sunday route around Balgowlah Heights.
28km in 2:04:31. 4:10 and 4:00 for the final 2kms of the North Head route. Hillier than I've been doing my Sunday runs for the last 4 months and the back of the right knee and achilles started to feel it towards the end. Will probably try to stick to the flat in general. Felt good today though.

Easy Friday

Easy 12km around the Botanical Gardens with Springer, Serg and Kanser. Picked it up a bit doing the last 3km by myself around Mrs Macquarie's Chair. Beautiful day out there. 56:09 all up.

HuRTS 12 x 400m

It's was commonly accepted today that, of all the sessions we do, this is one of the toughest. Probably a close run thing with Hickson Road. Strange as it is also the shortest session we do. The reps involve you going partially lactic from the first rep onwards, but the toughest element is how mentally difficult it is, particularly between reps 4 - 8 when you are hurting and yet feel as though you still have so much to do.

Really good crowd today (people are getting keen) including Ray, Kanser, Serg, Muz, Durante, MC, Tim C, KMK, RMR, Greg, Fats, Stephen, Pete W etc. Reps went off every 2 minutes as follows:

69, 69, 68, 68, 68, 68, 67, 68, 68, 67, 67, 67.

Huge improvement from 10th April, mainly due to having a big crowd around. Serg and Durante were pushing each rep (in particular Durante in the second half) so that we were finishing them all together. I was pretty stuffed on the final 2 - tried to increase the pace to catch KMK and Durante on the final rep but the legs said no.

Great session though.

Post script: Got SMH Half number and chip in the post today - No. 28. Pleased with that.

Medium Long Wednesday

Ran flat 10km route extended around Opera House to the Overseas Passenger terminal then back with Springer, then added a 3km loop of Mrs Macquarie's Chair to bring it up to 16km. 69:11. Nice and easy although Springer was feeling good and trying to push the pace beyond easy comfort level at times. Beautiful day and plenty of people out.

HuRTS 5min reps

8 x 5mins off 90 seconds. Big HuRTS crowd today including Charlie, Serg, Durante, Kanser, Muz, Springer, MC, Enda, Greg, Tim C, Ray, Dicky H, RMR. In fact, easier to identify people by their absence, the notable absentees being Tucks and the Judge.

We were flying today. We started off pretty quick and then ramped it up. This was mainly because Serg and Durante were putting some effort in. How Durante only managed to run 34:17 on Saturday, God only knows. The bloke must be the world's softest racer. I think Kanser needs to have words and explain that it's supposed to hurt when you run a race. Serg leaped forwards today, getting back to form. He completed the session (for once) and had 30 yards on me on the final rep before I clawed it back just before we finished. I had us running over 1.6km over the final rep which is well under 3:10 per km. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1689559

Warm up and warm down for about 15km all up.