Easing back in

Just a very easy 8km today with Kanser around the Botanical Gardens. Achilles much better with Voltaren. Will see how it reacts to running tomorrow. Icing loads too.

I'll be timekeeping tomorrow but should be some great tussles out there. Very jealous not to be a part of it. My predictions are as follows (assuming a bit of wind but not too much):

DC5: 32:45
Muz: 32:55
Kanser: 33:21
KMK: 33:34
Springer: 40:00
Durante: 41:23

Refuse to predict a time for MC - just hope he has a great run. I reckon at least one is spot on.

Retrocalcaneal Bursitis

Is what I have.

Treatment seems to be icing, anti-inflammatories, proper stretching and not running any hills or anything strenuous for the time being. Eccentric loading is not good - I had thought that that only seemed to be aggravating the problem. First light run will be Friday and then only alternate days. Still enjoying the rest.

Not a long Sunday run

Too tired this morning, so went out just before 2pm. Half way around the first lap plodding along I started thinking, what the hell am I doing, I could be playing with the kids, spending some time with Kirsten and instead I'm plodding around at a ridiculously slow pace doing this selfish pursuit, worrying about how sore my ankle is and all for what - to be able to run a 10km about 20 seconds quicker than I otherwise - would which no-one but myself really cares about. And frankly, I'm not that bothered. It's safe to say I've lost my running mojo. In constantly trying to improve times, I'm always pushing in training and not enjoying my running an more.

I'd planned on three 10km loops again. I couldnt quite bring myself to stop after one (reached in a mightily impressive 43:53) so, one minute into the second loop, I decided just to run the rest of it as quick as I could. That way, I'd get back to the family quicker and it wouldn't be a totally lost cause of a run. Also had the added benefit that my achilles isn't sore when I run fast. Bit of a Northerly breeze on Manly beach but the second 10k was 36:54 running angry.

Coolrunning 5km

Perfect day for running - cool, no wind and crystal clear. A few of the regulars were at the start including Tiger, Action, Cam Arnold and Hamburglar. Set off on 16:30 but with the intention of running under 16. Gary was the only one near setting off on 17:00. It's just a question of running blind and hoping people will appear. Went through 2km in 6:27 and realised I'd be struggling to beat 16:00 but then caught Gary between 2 and 3km and reached 3km in 9:37 so thought I was back on track. However, lost it between 3 and 4km without anyone to push me. Put in a bit of an effort when I could see the end to finish in 16:11. So no new PB - the weakest one I have remains for another day. Gary looked disappointed with his 17:22 but HB was pleased with a PB in 18:50.

5 mins rest then ran back with Gary at a solid pace - 18:40 for the return 5km.

Recovery run

Very easy jog to work from home in the morning. 28:50 at Spit Junction and 61:09 all up. Achilles sore for first 2km then fine.

HuRTS 12 x 400m

Left achilles has been constantly sore - only relief is when I'm running (when the pain disappears altogether) and when I stretch it thoroughly, including doing the eccentric loading exercises on it. For that reason, I'm not too bothered for the moment.

Headed out today still feeling tired from yesterday. Large crowd from Macquarie (including DC5 and KMK) plus Durante, MC, Scott, Stephen and Luke etc. Wasn't going to push too hard but it's tough not to when you have a front group of DC5, KMK and Durante pushing along. Reps around the marked out track at Rushcutters went:

70, 73, 70, 71, 71, 71, 73, 72, 71, 71, 71, 71.

MC reckons it's 2 seconds long for 400m. Solid start to my first speed session in a long while and a useful base point. Ran most with Durante, with DC5 in front and KMK dropping in and out. Pleased to be catching DC5 over the second half of the final 4 reps. Felt like giving up after 4 but the reserves kicked in.

[Yikes. Just checked out what I did on May 29. In fairness there was a strong breeze today, but I've plainly lost a bit of speed. Hopefully it's been compensated by some endurance. Need to get these speed sessions going more regularly if I want a good time in NY and at State 3km.]


POST SCRIPT: Very bizarre and sad coincidence. I wrote 4 weeks ago that I was coming back from a Tiger massage and saw a jumper on York St and heard him fall. Yesterday, I was walking back from a Tiger massage along Market St and saw that it had been closed off and loads of people were standing on side of the road with an ambulance crew and a fireman's truck with the extendible platform. I've just seen this on the SMH website. I was only watching the bloke get married on TV the night before.....http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/all-saints-star-found-dead/2008/08/28/1219516617997.html

Medium Long Wednesday

Caught up with Serg and MC for the usual Wednesday route. Serg has just come back from Portugal and been sidelined with flu and gastro so it was enjoyable watching him huff and puff up Ocean Street. No doubt I'll only have a couple of weeks of enjoyment before he's putting me to the sword again.

21:35 at Ocean Street before an easy run around Centennial and then a quick lap of 12:07 (quickest yet - 3:22's) mainly as a result of Serg pushing the pace early on. A bit windy in the first half but tailwind helped in the second.

Felt much better running home than last week (hard not to) and finished up in about 1:16:20 for the 19kms. MC getting stronger by the week, very strong on last rep and dropping me on the run up the the finish line.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

I'm getting slower. Not sure what's going on as the training has not let up and the race performances have been good. But can't believe how quickly I ran this session in June based on how I felt today. Reps went:

9:51; 9:25; 9:57; 9:31

It was pretty warm (at last!) but I don't think that made any difference to the times. Decent crowd with the Olympics over and people back from holiday. Charlie, DC5, Stevie T, Muz, Kanser (running very strongly again) and I were in the front group, Serg and Durante were easing their way back in after holidays and Ray, Tim L, MC, KMK, Pete W and a load of others were also around. Charlie, DC5 and Stevie T pulled ahead towards the end of the first rep and were well ahead for the rest. I seemed to start slowly on each one and then catch Kanser and Muz in the second half. The legs just felt lethargic today.

Still, a session's a session and I'm still pretty confident of the overall fitness.

Note: Tried to run to work yesterday but gave up after 2km. Was knackered and the left achilles was very sore. Iced it all day and did some exercises last night and it felt much better today. Need to keep an eye on it though.

Sunday 10km loops

Haven't run a two hour run for 4 weeks with taper for City to Surf and illness so was keen to do 10km looops so I could see whether I'd slow towards the end. Loops went 41:30, 41:37 and 40:22. Felt good on final lap but actually thought it was quicker. A strong Southerly made running down Manly beach tricky, but coming back was a dream.

31km all up.

13km Manly Fartlek

13.3km - GMap attached: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1413865
1 minute slow, 2 mins fast. I've done this once before, on 26th October last year, when I ran 51:43 but was doing 2 mins slow, 2 mins fast. Ran 49:25 today, which averages out at 3:42 per km. Tried to keep the quick sections consistent which meant the slower sections slowed towards the end. Blustery conditions so a good run.

Easy run home

Another easy run home with the backpack but another time I would have classed as quick 6 months ago - 55:45 after 29:36 at the Toyota Garage. I think I'm just very used to the distance now.

Just watched the women's 5000m. Fascinating race, can't believe how slowly they could take it out. How come no-one just bolts? They must have so much nervous energy. I think I'm in love with Tirunesh Dibaba. She's a beautiful looking runner, a complete natural. 2:03 over the final 800m would have had Tamsyn Lewis struggling to stay on.

Argyle St Hills

10 x Argyle St Hills starting from the corner of Harrington St and ending at the lamppost before the entrace to the tunnel under the Bridge. Jog down the short way back as recovery. Again, another smaller turnout but good to see Serg back. Also there was Muz, MC, Hamish, Scott, Tim C, Eoin, plus a couple of others.

Ran the first couple with Muz and Serg, then Serg went off for an easy run coughing and spluttering - sucking in the Oxygen doing hills does no good for a cold. I then tried to hang on to Muz, failed from rep 5 onwards. He then ducked out after 7 resting for Saturday so ran the last 3 by myself. Times went:

1:38; 1:37; 1:37; 1:37; 1:40; 1:38; 1:40; 1:41; 1:39; 1:39.

Disappointed that they gradually got slower (I don't normally do rep sessions this way) but I'm starting to feel a bit stronger after each session so hopefully this cold is going. Looking forward to getting some more sleep some time soon too.

Medium Long Wednesday

19km Centennial Route run with MC and (for the first half) Ben. Usual 3 marathon pace stretches. Felt very comfortable today (although low on energy as I felt starving) which resulted in a quick 12:19 (3:25's) for the Centennial lap (finishing in 49:02) MC was keeping the pace up in between the faster stretches. However, I suddenly felt disorientated and bereft of energy coming up to Bilyard Avenue. Just wanted to eat a jar full of sweets and overload on sugar. MC pointed out it was probably the effects of lack of sleep (haven't had more than 5 hours sleep per night over the past 5 nights due to the Olympics). Seems to make sense as I was knackered over lunch - couldn't think of anything but sleep.

Anyway, struggled to keep up with MC over the final 3km, finishing in 1:16:25. Still a very respectable time averaging 4:01's per km all up.

Hurts Progressive tempo

Beautiful day but numbers are still down, maybe due to the Olympics. Group up front was DC5, Charlie, Muz, Kanser and myself, with Tims L&C, MC and Ray in the next group. Felt comfortable for the first half, turned in almost exactly the same spot as last time and upped the pace but started to feel tired on any hill in the second half. Was dropped by Charlie, DC5 and Muz along Hospital Rd and finished about 20 seconds behind them in the end in 45:10. Well down on last month and most was lost in the final 3km (turned onto Art Gallery Road in 35:17). I'll put it down to the after effects of the cold for now (still got the headache and funny bogeys) ratehr than a loss of form. Muz is looking strong again - expect he'll go well in the Sutherland Half on Saturday - and Kanser is obviously getting stronger by the week hanging on well after a super-long run on Sunday.

Easy run home

Intended to run home very easily in about 60 minutes. There was lightning flashing all around and I was bloody scared coming over the Harbour Bridge as you could feel the charge in the air. Anyway, must have had a good tailwind all the way (I could feel it on the bridge) as I was at the Toyota Garage in 29:57 and home in 56:43 despite it feeling much slower.

Cold is turning into sinisitis as I've got a cracking headache and luminous orange snot.

Fitting in

Kirst was off for an all day course so had to fit in my run before 7.30am. Just 10km (7.5km Manly route but with an extra bit around the eastern hill) at a reasonable pace trying to tire myself out due to missing the long run. Wasn't hard to tire myself out after yesterday.

Still in shock over Usain Bolt. Remarkably reminiscent of Flo Jo but at least he looks a bit more like a natural.

Quickish 16km

Campbell Parade (but back to Kenneth due to bridge still being repaired), Queenscliff, Shelly Beach, North Head and straight home. 65:24. Probably a bit over 16km as I was averaging under 4mins per km. Started off quick, got tired climbing up to North Head (tried to push the hills), 3:57, 3:48 and 3:43 for the measured 3kms around North Head, pretty tired by Manly but pushed Fairlight Rd hill.

Pleased with the run. Beautiful day. Won't predict Spring having arrived yet but it was at least 3-4 degrees warmer than last weekend.

Predict Usain Bolt will win tonight - he's looked awesome in qualifying. Dibaba last night was incredible. She looked as though she was barely puffed running a 60 second final lap to go under 30mins. I reckon she'd be competitive in the 800m on that form. GO PAULA!!!!

Back to it

Caught a vicious Man Cold after City to Surf on Sunday and have been feeling feverish all week until today. Still totally bunged up but felt good enough to venture out today. Caught up with MC and happened upon Kanser half way through. 10km in just over 45 mins.

The good thing about complete rest is how well the body feels. No achilles issues over the last two days and feel great when running for the Jet Cat (as I always end up doing) in the morning. If only I could feel like this all the time. Corollary of complete rest and Man Flu is that I've eaten a bucketload and put on a kilo. But it's been fun, especially sprawled out on the sofa watching the Olympics. I think I may finally be ready for Aussie citizenship after getting genuinely upset over Libby Trickett failing to hold on for 100m Freestyle Gold today. Having said that, Rebecca Adlington looks great for the 800m tomorrow and I'll be screaming her on.

City to Surf - 37th in 46:34!

46:29 chip time.

Finally done this race justice after years of trying! Plan from the start was to attack the hills, both ups and downs, and it really paid off. Caught up with Tucks, Tim C, KMK and Ray beforehand then met all the other HuRT Squad on the start line. Also caught up with Dave Sweeney which added to the nerves as I was keen for revenge from Gold Coast. I was still chatting with Robbie and Mark Warren when the gun went which seemed to surprise everyone. Ran down the hill startled more than anything else, felt breathless up to the tunnel as usual, pushed the downhill to Edgecliff then tried to push up the Edgecliff hill. At this stage I was running with Tucks and Charlie. Felt OK for the first time ever in Edgecliff which gave me a lot of confidence. Pushed the hill down to Double Bay to edge ahead of a group containing Charlie and Tucks but struggled a bit up the hill from Double Bay to Rose Bay. Tucks and Charlie edged ahead here and I didn't have the legs to go with them. Clocked 5km through Rose Bay in 16:02 (a PB). I was struggling on the flat sections (opposite to normal) until I could find a rhythm - eventually did just before the start of Heartbreak Hill. I was running with Nick Bennett at this stage. Again tried to push Heartbreak but was a bit crestfallen when Chadi came flying by - he ran a stormer up the hill. Some bloke on a bike seemed to be shouting instructions to Nick - first to latch on to Chadi but when he disappeared to latch on to me. This actually gave me a bit of confidence as I've never been someone who anyone should think of latching on to up a hill - it's a bit like drafting a toddler on a trike.

From here I was just trying to keep pace with Richard Gardiner and Peter Mitchelmore. We went through 10km in 33:43 so I knew a sub-47 was on the cards. They both pulled ahead slightly on the long downhill to Bondi then, out of the blue, so did DrJH (Jamie Harrison). At the bottom, Jamie had about 15 yards on me and Mitchelmore about 25. Richard Gardiner pushed the slight rise over the bridge so I just tried to stick to him. Rounded the corner on Campbell Parade and thought, this is it, let's just put on a sprint to see if I can catch DrJH. I did with about 100 yards to go and continued the sprint to pip Richard as well (although the results would suggest not Peter as I had originally thought).

Good to catch up with DrJH afterwards - nice to have one of Australia's great distance runners tell you he had his eyes on you the whole race and then to outkick him. OK, he may not be the same runner he was 20 years ago but still a tough bugger. Dave Sweeney ran low 47's which I'm sure he'll be disappointed with but he'll bounce back when he sorts his knees out. Fantastic run by Tucks - 45:46, just behind Tom Crasti (a low 31 10km runner) and beating Chris Truscott (45:5X). Charlie is getting back to top form with a 45:36 and Chadi clocked 46:00. The other great runs were Rob Lansdown with a 47:10 and Kanser pulling a great run out of the bag to clock 47:51 despite being sidelined with a heavy cold all week. Shows he's developed some great strength which will serve him well in Berlin.

Nice chat with all the HuRT Squad after - there's quite a few of us. Congrats to Rich P on impending fatherhood - joining the 4 kid club!

Love this event. Another beautiful day. And the achilles' aren't too sore! For now.

Easy stuff

Very easy 10km running to Glebe to get my IPod fixed then back via Hickson Road. 42:48. Woke up with a sore throat and feeling slightly under but I think I'm beating as I'm feeling a lot better after a hearty lunch.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Smaller crowd today with a lot of people resting up for C2S. At the front end it included Muz, KMK, MC, Ben, Derek and a few others. Decided only to push 3 of them and run through the final 2 so reps went as follows:

3:38; 3:33; 3:31; 3:55; 3:49

Remembered after the first that you have to run flat out to record fast times on Hickson Road. Felt quick but with only Muz keeping up before dropping off slightly towards the end the times were down on last month. KMK did his usual thing of starting off easily then running a blinder on the 5th - 3:22. He has a huge stride in full flow.

Caught up with Gerry outside the changing rooms and he posed an interesting question - who will be the first HuRT squad member home on Sunday. If we discount the prentender Big Mikey H (who I think would be first), I reckon it's a toss-up between Charlie, Tucks and Robbie. Charlie ran a good 10km at the start of July but was off for 10 days after. Tucks has had a couple of niggles from the marathon as well as coming to the end of a training pattern culminating in the marathon so my money is on Robbie. I expect KMK and Kanser will have strong runs too as the course will suit them.

Steady 10km

Flat 10km from work run at a steady pace. 39:17. 19:45 at 5km.

Attack the Hills!

No HuRTS at lunch due to a date with Penny Wong so ran home instead. Decided to attack the hills (both ups and downs). Given the topography of my run home, that's basically a tempo. 27:49 at the Toyota Garage and 51:49 all up. Again felt great.

Achilles was fine all day until I started my run (opposite of yesterday) but then eased up half way through.

Quickish Monday

Flat 10km route from work. Aimed to run consistent 4min kms but I've got no idea about pacing. Thought that 4 min kms would be slightly less than comfortable running. Reached the 5km turn in 18:58 and given I was ahead of schedule I just maintained the same pace back but increased the pace over the final 2km to finish in 37:38. Felt good today concentrating again on the core.

Only concern is that the left achilles has been sore since Saturday's race (I need heel raises for my flats) even when walking. The only time it's not sore is when resting or when I'm running.

Bumped into a load of people out there today - Muz, Charlie, Travis, Dave le Banh and Scott to name a few.

State Relays and Sunday MLR

Sunday

Intended on running the usual Sunday Manly route but got to about an hour and was feeling a bit fatigued so decided to cut it short. 91:06 for about 21kms. 3:54 and 3:45 for the North Head route kms - I was concentrating on pushing all the hills.

Saturday

State 4km relays at Wollongong. Ran first leg with Jeremey Horne second, Rob Lansdown 3rd and KMK final. The usual top crowd - my leg included Tim Rowe, Russell Chin, Ryan Gregson etc. Set off quick as usual then struggled into quite a headwind heading out to the stadium. Managed to form a group with Richie Roberts and Brad Milosovic. Basically, we then stuck together all the way around - Ritchie pushing ahead slightly towards the end and with me just outsprinting Brad. The legs felt very wobbly in the final 300m so it was a solid performance. 12:19 after a 6:03 first lap. 1 second behind Ritchie and 9 behind Robin Whiteley. Jeremey ran 12:15 so I was pleased with the time - haven't lost as much speed as I had thought. KMK ran a great last leg to clock 12:25 by himself and bring the Striders home to 4th overall.

BTW - top run by Durante to run 33:01 at Lane Cove this morning. Grave doubts as to whether I would have bettered that. Also huge congrats to Tucks and Big Mikey H for being selected to run for NSW in the National X-Country - Tim Rowe and Benny St L are only reserves!

Strange day

Caught up with Big Mikey H to run the 19km Centennial route with the usual 3 marathon pace stretches. Reached Woollhara gates in 21.25, then ran the second loop of Centennial in 12:08 (i.e. much quicker than usual) struggling to stay with BMH who was about 10 seconds in front. Finished that at 47:58 feeling again as though I'm struggling with pace at the moment. It seems that what I've gained in strength and endurance I've lost in pace. Felt strong towards the end finishing in 1:14:43 - 3:55 per km pace overall.

Good to get another strong session in before C2S but I'm feeling very tired so will rest for the next couple of days then concentrate more on speed.

Followed up with a Tiger massage - left achilles has been getting stiffer and he certainly worked on that.

Then walked back to the office to find York Street cut off by police tape. A jumper was standing on the top of one of the tall buildings. Quite a crowd were watching but when he started to shuffle closer to the edge I had to turn and walk away. 10 seconds later I heard numerous sharp intakes of breath and a loud thud. Quite shaken up by it.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Very select group at HuRTS today. Everyone is either secret training (Kanser), resting (Tucks), injured (Muz, KMK) or just getting fat (our Portuguese friend). So turnout was Durante, MC, Richard H, Springer, Tim's L and C and a few of the Macquarie boys. Didn't know what to expect today - half intended to take it easy as part of the Arthur Taper but then knew as soon as people started racing off I wouldn't be able to restrain myself.

Ran the first with Durante then he pulled away by between 3-5 seconds on each rep, only intending to run 8-10. He did 10 in the end and still looked very comfortable - will be fascinated to see what he runs at Lane Cove on the weekend. My legs felt very heavy from the first rep. Really struggled to overtake everyone and the whole thing just felt laborious. Haven't felt like this in ages. Gradually it felt easier as the session went on (i.e. when you just feel tired as you always do). Hadn't got a clue what pace we were running as we were starting from an earlier lamp post to the one we normally start at - so decided to run the final rep at the same pace over the Action marked KM. Ran it in 3:11. So to put it all in context:

(a) the reps were quick (Durante must have been running 3:05-3:08's);
(b) there was a lot of wind;
(c) have run 160km over the last 9 days; and
(d) can't think of any more excuses.

Ran the last 2 reps by myself - I was the only one to complete 14. Most did 10 with only Tim L and MC running 12.

Recovery run

14km on the flat around the foreshore with Springer, Ray, MC, Rich H, Christian and Holt Hardy. A very easy 66:13 but the legs were tired from yesterday. I'm going to practice the Paul Arthur taper by resting Thursday and running very easy Friday.

Tourist Trot STaR

A call to arms by Chris Truscott during the week brought out a good group for the STaR today starting inCentennial. 3 Truscotts, Fats, Keith, Kanser, Durante, Steve Hume, Cameron Arnold, Steve Jackson meant we started at about 4:30's and got quicker all the way. Ended up averaging about 4:13s after running the last 10km in under 40 minutes. Lovely morning and a good group.

Good to hear Tucks having another great run in the Cities Marathon, finishing 6th in 2:30.

Quick Hills

Short of time today so just ran 10 hills outside the front door. Nice hill as it starts flat but gently gets steeper all the way. About 330m. Reps went:

59, 58, 57, 57, 57, 57, 57, 57, 56, 55.

Short jog after for about 8km all up.

Easy Friday

Easy 15km dodging the puddles around Centennial with Ray, MC, Muz and Holt Hardy. 66:15.

Tempo run home - PB time!

Shocking day at work - eventually got out at 9.30pm so did my tempo run home. Wasn't expecting much after a big week's training, staying up watching the Tour and stresses at work. But kept the pace honest from the word go despite always feeling tired. Reached Toyota Garage in 26:00 (42 seconds down from when I set the PB in late April). Really pushed the downhill to Spit Bridge as:
(a) I remember writing in my blog that I'd eased off on this section last time;
(b) had in my mind that Cadel said it was as important to practice the downs as much as the ups; and
(c) good practice for C2S where there are plenty of steep downs.
Then pushed the Spit Hill to Sydney Road. Felt really strong on this - hill strength and endurance is coming through. Pushed again along Sydney Road to run 6:43 for the final 2kms. Finished up in 48:45 - a 6 second PB. Real confidence booster feeling so strong in the second half.
Bring on C2S!
Why do I set myself up for a fall every year?

MLR with marathon pace stretches

19km Centennial Park route with the 3 marathon pace stretches from 2 weeks ago. Ran up until Woolhara Gates (including the first quick stretch) with KMK, then on my own. Ran past Tim Rowe twice in Centennial - he looks very smooth when running. 12:45 for the Centennial Loop (finishing at 49mins on the dot), 2:45 for final stretch (starting at 70 mins on the dot) and all up in 1:15:54 (averaging just under 4:00 per km).

Feeling strong at the moment and confidence is up. Just concentrated on getting through this bout of heavy training rather than worrying about any races for the moment. Convinced this session is becoming my most important of the week.

HuRTS 4 x 3km

Cool and sunny today but quite breezy - more of a headwind for the uphill reps (1 and 3). Not a huge crowd.

Reps went: 9:55; 9:21; 9:44; 9:12.

Started off in a group with Durante, KMK and DC5 with Muz joining us half way through. Kanser (after 12kms this morning) was next behind us with Tim and MC running well today too. My legs were very tired from yesterday's long run - I knew it would hurt early on so just settled into a steady pace and watched the 3 others disappear off into the distance. They ran about 9:40. Again on the second rep I ran with Muz as the other 3 sped off, however I started to come good about half way through. Picked up KMK who was dying quickly and finished just behind Durante. Ran the third rep with Durante all the way. Again DC5 was comfortably ahead and we passed a fading KMK just before the ABC Pool. Durante pushed all the way on this one and we were catching DC5 by the end. Final rep I ran by myself after Durante said he was going to coast through in 10mins. Was watching DC5 all the way - Kanser went with him for a while before deciding the big fella was just too quick. Failed to catch him by a few seconds after Tim L gave me a great lead up to a sprint finish. Tim L is peaking just at the right time for C2S.

Good session (at least in the light of yesterday's run) was spoiled by a thief stealing my new Mizuno top after I took it off to run in a vest following the second rep.

Long Sunday on Monday

Top of glute felt better today so risked a run at lunch. Still slightly sore for the first 5km then it disappeared so just hoping it doesn't reappear with a vengeance. Felt great today, very bouncy. Amazing what a day's rest does. Ran the flat 10km route, then continued along 45 min fartlek course, then over Darling Harbour bridge, over Anzac Bridge, over Iron Cove Bridge until half way up the hill following it when I reached 63 minutes. Plan was to run 28kms in 2:06. Turn around and ran back. Picked up the pace on the way back to finish in 2:04:13. I think I was averaging just under 4:20s (clocked the 1km around Farm Cove in 4:10 on the way out and 4:00 on the way back) so probably works out at about 29km.

I've gone on record as saying I'm going to run the Gold Coast Marathon next year. Gives me a chance to run 6ft Track properly too. At some point I'm going to have to wander into post 31km territory. That scares me a little.

Injured

Top of left glute worsened after yesterday's session. Had trouble sleeping until I popped 2 Voltaren. Took another 2 Voltaren before heading out today but lasted 90 seconds before realising I was running holding my breath to manage to pain. Pretty sure it just needs a couple of days rest (and no more steep hills).

Campbell Parade intervals

Same session as late April - 13 loops of Campbell Parade (650m each), one float then one fast. Floats are not at a comfortable pace but easing off from the fast sections. Worked out that I ran the fast sections quicker than last time but the floats were slightly slower. Reps went:

2:21; 2:07; 2:23; 2:06; 2:22; 2:05; 2:24; 2:02; 2:20; 2:02; 2:23; 1:59; 2:23

Overall 29:03 which compares to 29:23 last time. That was just before State 10km so pleased with this.

Been dreading all sessions recently due to feeling tired the whole time with the increased mileage. Really didnt feel like it today but felt fine when I eventually got out. Top of left glute still sore.

Bumped into Lucy Chapman on the jog home. She's been training with one of my lawyers from work and she has high hopes for her. Hope she can get her fit for November and JMorgan CC.

Serg - no excuses mate. Just get out there and cut down on the chicken. Try getting up early...

Easy MLR (of sorts)

Easy 16+km around to Cremorne, back over the bridge and around and about along Hickson Road. 73:13. Ran with Kanser, Springer, Big Mikey H, Ray and Tim C. It was supposed to be easy until we got to Cremorne when Kanser decided he needed to be back at work so started gunning it all the way home. Tim C and I went with him. He really pushed all the hills and dropped me on most. Need to attack hills more in my long runs.

Knocked over a 5 year old in Neutral Bay when neither of us could decide which way to go to avoid each other. Bit embarrased by that but fortunately her mother obviously wasn't a local to the area as she was an apologetic type.

HuRTS - Hills

Today's select HuRTS crew resembled a who's who of Australian middle distance running in the late 90's. As well as Stevie T we had Holt Hardy, a 1:48 and 3:38 (800m/1500m) runner in his day. With Rich H and Durante, that's 4 sub 1:55 runners.

Headed over to Rushcutters having given everyone the option of 400s or hills. I wanted 400s as my achilles was feeling a bit tight. Everyone else wanted hills. So I decided to do them but not kill myself in the process. Ran up Yarrannabe St 9 times after running up Thornton once but realising the recovery back down was too long. Ran 1:23 or 1:24 for all the reps but for one early on at 1:26. Was about 5-10yards behind Steve and Robbie for the first 5, then closed in on them for the last 4. Felt pretty comfortable so was pleased with the session. Don't feel as though I battered the body around as much as I did last Saturday.

Jog there and back for 13km all up.

Edit: Just had a bird's eye view of the Popemobile. He basically did the Mona Fartlek course. I reckon he'd be entitled to a "I made the Stone Gates" T-Shirt, as it didn't hang around.

Long Wednesday run to work

Usual 19km run to work but have changed the marathon pace stretches. Now run at a true marathon pace and longer - first from Pittwater Rd entrance to Queenscliff lagoon to Manly SLSC (about 8:20), the second from the bottom of Parriwi Rd to Neutral Bay (15:54) and the third across the Harbour Bridge (no time - too knackered to look). 40:00 at the bottom of Parriwi, 49:02 at Spit Junction and 78:20 all up. Quicker again (no doubt helped by the longer fast stretches) but it was tough today. I was very tired coming through Kirribilli - off the back of 116km for the past 7 days (my biggest to date).

Beautiful cool day - perfect running conditions.

Hurts Progressive tempo

All over the place today. Sydney is full of Catholic pilgrims for World Youth Day which meant the Opera House was crammed, Hickson Road was closed and the Overseas Passenger Terminal was blocked. Intended route of running 45minute fartlek route was gone so we improvised with Charlie's Botanical Gardens route here....http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2079469

Plan was to run for 23 minutes, turn around and retrace our steps and try to get back to the start by 45 minutes. Felt great in the first half - reached 6.36km in the 23 minutes (3:36 pace) running with Durante, DC5, Charlie, Fats, Ray and Andrew Wilson. Then immediately following the turn DC5 picked up the pace and pulled ahead. I ran with Charlie for a while until he stepped off the road heading up Art Gallery Road. Felt strong up the hills (for once) and pulled in DC5 just before the ABC pool. Pushed on to finish in 44:33. 3:23's for the second half to average 3:30's overall.

Nice session. Very social for the first half and it only gets painful in the final 3 or 4km.

Recovery run

13.5km run to work. Still very stiff and sore to start with but eased into it so that it was a proper recovery run. Felt much better by the end. 27:55 at Spit Junction and 58:31 all up.

Long Sunday run

Out in the pitch dark at 6am for the 28km Manly route (Burnt Bridge Creek, Queenscliff, Shelley, North Head and MSW). Just a question of dragging myself around today feeling very tired after yesterday's session. Glutes and tops of thighs very stiff. Pretty slow - 2:08:27. 4:20 and 4:13 for the North Head kms but they were probably when I was moving most easily. Sat in the pool afterwards which was bloody freezing but did my legs no end of good.

Jamie - how do you work out elevation on GMap?

Hills

2km warm-up then 15 x Margaret St Hills (GMap attached) immediately jogging down Woods Parade so it was a constant 600m loop. All between 1:30 and 1:33. Tried to stretch out on the flat bit along Fairlight St each time. Killer session. Only way through it mentally is to think of them in sets of twos.

2km warm down for 13km all up.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2070259

Easy Friday

Easy 15.4km run on usual route to Centennial but only one loop. 66:47 (i.e. 4:20s). Ran with Serg, Stevie T and Robdog.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Smaller group than usual today, but what we lacked in numbers we made up for in talent. BMH, Stevie T, Robdog, Serg, Tucks, DC5, Fats, MC, Tim L, English Andy, Steve C, Hamburglar and IHS. Reps were lead out by BMH, Stevie T, Robdog and Serg with DC5 and I in a group behind just in front of Tucks. Times went as follows:

3:31; 3:24 (pb); 3:31; 3:27; 3:30.

So another new set pb, but despite that I was well off the pace. Robdog was showing great form, and Stevie T has obviously put some training in as he stuck to BMH throughout and then outpaced him on the final rep. Like last month, I'd feel fine for the first 300m, struggle in the middle then pick it up towards the end. The encouraging thing was that I would be closing in on the front group towards the end of each rep - caught Serg on a couple (he's started his base loading on pies and Portuguese chicken) and got close to Robdog on a couple. Didn't seem as mentally tough as usual but I was probably hallucinating. I was pretty much lactic from rep 3 onwards.

HuRTS T-Shirts now all distributed so our fame will shortly be spread far and wide. A few spare and Mona Fartlek is next wek so another chance for people to lay claim.

Medium Long Wednesday

Head out at lunch with MC, Big Mikey H and Kanser for the 19km route to Centennial, around twice and back to work. Planned on two "true" marathon pace stretches - one from Rushcutters to Woolhara Gates and one around the 3.6km inner loop of the park. Only BMH was keen on the marathon pace stretches. Bit of a drag up Ocean Street but didn't go crazy on the pace. He had to head back to work before the second loop of Centennial which I did in 12:44 (3:32 pace if 3.6km is accurate). Felt comfortable. All up 1:17:11 for the 19km which is 4:03 pace. Found that once you start doing the marathon pace stretches you never quite slow down to the original very easy pace afterwards. Felt good today but calves were stiff. Had to run in the flats as I left my trainers at home. Need to replace both in any case.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Turned up today not intending to run quickly, just to ease the legs into slightly more strenuous stuff following Sunday's race. My calves are still sore (as always after a long race). Good to see Big Mikey H after a great run on Sunday (31:11 in the 10km) - he and Dimitri being the only people I know who really performed well at the weekend.

Today was the usual 1 min fast, 30 seconds easy for 45 mins. Set off in a group with Serg, Muz and picked up Fats near Mrs Macquarie's Chair. Serg and Fats were pushing on with Muz and I just hanging on. Felt very tired for the first 15 mins. Turned halfway along Hickson Road and headed back with Serg deciding to push on and Fats dropping off with the runs (he'd been complaining about a dicky tummy the whole way). Kept going with Muz until half way around Farm Cove when he dropped off. Was feeling much more comfortable at this stage. Ran the last section by myself falling 20 yards short of getting back to the Stone Gates.

Nice to be back into it. Feeling very positive about training and trying a couple of new things leading up to City to Surf after chatting to Pete and others. Have started the eccentric loading on the achilles again as the left is stiffening up in the mornings.

Gold Coast HM - 34th in 1:13:09

Ran a very easy 5km on the treadmill on Saturday night and woke nice and early on the Sunday after not really sleeping when Maggie woke us all up at 3:10am. Eventually got to the start after a panicked boat trip across Broadwater from Sea World (they didn't know where to dock which meant we were bobbing about in the water for about 15 minutes). Went through the pre-race rituals and put myself on the second row as I didn't want a mad sprint start.

Tried to keep it easy in the first km (the leaders went off amazingly quickly) but still clocked 3:11. 2km was reached in 6:34 and 3km in 9:58. I was a bit concerned by this as I realised I was averaging only 3:24's and it felt tougher than I was hoping for. At this stage our group of 3 (which coincidentally included Noureddine Benfodda, the chap from New Caledonia that I ran a large part of the Sydney Half with last September) was about 100yards behind a big group of 5, and from leading our mini-group I was now hanging on as they upped the pace to try to catch them. Missed 4km, 5km was 16:39 (i.e. down to 3:20s) and 6km was 20:03. Between 7 and 8km we got within 25 yards of the group in front but I was struggling and got dropped. This was the big mistake of my race as they never got any closer (other than one bloke who was later spat out) and the other 2 chaps in my mini-group caught them by 9km. 10km was reached in 33:33 and I was still feeling pretty confident of a 71 on the basis I could drift a minute on the way back and still make it. But I guess that's the wrong mental attitude to have. As soon as I turned at the 10.5km mark we hit a strong headwind. I caught one bloke at 12km and tried to push straight on past him but he kept on sticking to me. I'd then duck in behind him to shelter from the wind and he seemed to drop the pace significantly so that it felt as though I was clipping his heels the whole time. I guess this was the effect of the wind but it was bloody annoying. I clocked splits in the 3:40s and was just frustrated. At times I felt as though I could push the pace but then couldn't really find any rythmn. 15km was reached in 51:28 (a 17:55 5km split!) and I was thoroughly pissed off at this stage. From being 27 seconds ahead of schedule I was now 28 behind. To rub salt in the wounds, the two leading ladies came past with a pacemaker at 18km. This was a bit of welcome relief. They were clocking solid 3:30kms and so suddenly the pace lifted without much more effort. Being Japanese, they weren't the best windshields but their pacemaker was. I don't think he was intending for me to take the benefit of this though. Still, it's dog eat dog out there. Drifted off their pace over the final km when I was very tired and limped across the line.

Only saw Dave Sweeney at the turnaround mark having set off on a flyer. Sounded like he struggled as much as I did in the second half to clock a 72:26 after a 32:55 at 10km, which gives a bit of incentive for C2S. He doesn't look 46, must be dodgy birth records like they have in Kenya. Most of the HuRT squad struggled too - Durante in 75:10 (like me, a very similar time to SMH), Kanser in 77:02, Tim L in 79:35, Tiger in 79:50, and MC finishing in the low 80s.

The wind obviously had a significant impact but a few of us from the squad will have a chat about whether we're doing the correct training at the moment. I feel as though I could currently run a much better 5km than Half. This was borne out by Serg's performance. After a great run last week at Scarborough Park he was disappointed not to get under 32 in the 10km (32:16). Will definitely keep up the Wednesday long runs before City to Surf last year as they worked last Spring.

Great to catch up with so many people before and after, it felt like a local race.

More easy stuff

Just 7.5km run from work to the Toyota Garage carrying around 10kgs in my backpack. 33:05. Knees pretty sore with the weight and calves tight. Nearly there.