PITD

Pain in the Domain followed by 1km cool down. Good crowd in the fast pack including Ray, chap from Macquarie, another who pushed the long rep and Chris who (as always) pushed the reps in the second half.

1:56 for the long rep but stopped the watch slightly short due to being crowded at the gate. Probably closer to 1:57. Very pleased as I was by myself nearly all the way - letting the chap from MBL and A.N.Other pull ahead before the first mosaic before I started to pull them in following the second mosaic. Also assisted by a following wind in the 1st third - against towards the end. Pushed all the other reps hard. 27:00 in total.

7km all up.

Easy Monday

12km in the early evening to Centennial Park and around a bit and then back. Ran with Beaky at talking pace. Just over 48 minutes. Felt fine, calves a bit stiff.

Beautiful Sunday

23km long Sunday run around North Head and Balgowlah Heights. Felt great for the first 16km - running very easily yet still 45:52 at the stone arch corner heading down to Little Collins Beach. Struggled from Fairlight path onwards and took it easy through Balgowlah Heights as a number of aches and pains were starting to surface. Finished in 1:36:43.

Strange intervals

Saturday

Plans to run the CR 5km challenge went up in smoke after Billy woke me up in the middle of the night. Slept in instead. Headed out around 5pm for intervals along Manly beach from Manly Surf Club to Queenscliff Surf Club - 3 x 1 mile with strict 2 minute recovery. Times went:

5:00; 5:34; 4:56

Almost gave up into the second rep as it was a farce. I had barely noticed the tailwind on the first rep, but on the second I felt as though I was jogging and bent double. Knew that I'd be disappointed with myself if I gave up so struggled on expecting something around 6 minutes. Was quite pleased with 5:34 but in truth the second half was more sheltered. Just blasted the third.

10km all up.

Friday

3km very easy either side of an Easy Tiger massage.

Super Session

Every now and then things just go right in a session. This was one of those days. Rocked up not knowing who was going to turn up but we ended up with a decent crowd being myself, Tim, Ray and two of Ray's mates.

Intervals session was 5 x 1.2km along Hickson Road with strict 2 minute recovery. The intervals went:

3:44; 3:33; 3:43; 3:36; 3:39

On average, that's about 3-4 seconds per rep faster than I've done before. Ray held back on the first and then got very competitive with Tim and I on the second leading to the ridiculous time. Tim was competitive throughout, holding back for the first three-quarters of each rep and then always coming onto my shoulder on the last quarter. Was especially pleased with the final rep where I even managed a pathetic Highnam sprint over the last 50 metres.

10km all up for the best session I've run this year.

Getting tired

14km run into work. 26:36 at Spit Junction, 57:16 all up. Struggled towards the end feeling very tired - probably as only 14 hours rest from yesterday's interval session. Surprised at the time at Spit Junction as I seemed to struggle up Parriwi Road.
Plenty of stretching afterwards - slightly sore hip flexor.

Worse than Pain

Intervals - 5 x 900m gate to gate around Farm Cove with strict 2 min recovery.

2:52; 2:46; 2:50; 2:47; 2:50.

Missed Pain in the Domain due to a last minute conference call. So punished myself by having to do intervals alone. The doubt demons were out in force, particularly after the first rep where it took me a good 20 seconds staring at my analogue watch to realise I was over 2:50 and not under. They then resurfaced after the second rep telling me I couldn't possibly maintain that pace and I was going to crumble. But there's something character building in intervals alone. In truth, the session was all about the wind - a real truggle into it on reps 1, 3 and 5 and a pleasure on the others. Pleased with the effort put in on the last as I was determined not to drop off in the last two reps as last time.

10km all up.

Proper training starts from here...

Monday

14km running into work. Felt very easy from the word go which is no doubt as a result of 10 days rest or very easy training. 26:40 at Spit Junction, 56:26 into work. Pleased with the pace as I didn't feel as though I was pushing too hard. Felt strong all the way up Parriwi Road. Only concern is my left hip flexor is sore again but physio at lunchtime today.

Sunday

Rest. Ben's buck's night the night before. Walking into Manly was about as much as I could manage.

Rebuilding

Saturday

Easy 8km at 6.30am. Very slow to start with, quick stretch along Manly Beach (5:30 for the mile finishing very quickly) and 30:55 all up.

Friday

Easy 8km running from work to Spit Junction. 30:07. Picked up the speed in the second half and finished feeling great.

Running again!

First run back after a week off with a back problem. Easy 8km. Ran down to Hickson Road and joined Ray, Tim, Peter, Richard and Phil Dove for intervals. I just strided 4 of them without putting too much effort in. Plenty of stretching before and after - particularly of the hip flexors which appears to be the root of my back problem. Back felt stiff towards the end but not painful as it has been.

Fixing the problem

Friday, Saturday and Sunday - zip, nothing, nowt. Tried to run Friday and Sunday but both times gave up after 1km in pain with the back. Went to see Tara Lal today and it appears as though it's related to the groin strain I picked up (falling off a nightclub dancefloor) in New York.

Massage with Easy Tiger tomorrow morning and back to see Tara on Wednesday. Hope to be back in action by Thursday to limit the time off to one week.

Injured again

Tried to run home but only got as far as Circular Quay before the pain in my back was too much. Better to rest now rather than aggravate it further.

Back to Intervals

Met up with Chris Graham for intervals at lunchtime along Hickson Road. 5 x 1.2km (ish) with a strict 2 minute recovery. 3:45, 3:40, 3:45, 3:45, 3:50. Second and fourth intervals are supposed to be about 5 seconds quicker as they take the inside edge of the big corner. So 4th and 5th intervals were 5 seconds down on usual. Pleasde with the consistency of the first three. Was initially disappointed with the last two but was clearly affected by fatigue over the events of the past week and the heat didn't help.

Jog there and back. 10km all up. Jog back very painful as I seem to have pulled a muscle in my back trying to sleep in airline seats.

News from New York

Thursday 5th

Rest. Flight to New York.

Friday 6th

9km easy getting lost in Central Park. About 40 minutes.

Saturday 7th

JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship Race. Finished 19th in 18:03. Started very quickly and was suffering around 1km. Then just tried to focus to maintain my place. Started to feel stronger between 4-5km but the legs were really hurting in the sprint finish. Chuffed to bits with the time - about 20 seconds faster than I was expecting. Just vaguely disappointed not to have cracked 18 minutes. Pete finished in 17:16 (exactly the same time difference between us as at Sydney last November) after running with the leaders early on.

Sunday 8th

Beautiful day - did one loop of Central Park with Prue and then another by myself. About 23km in 1:38:52. Really struggled towards the end feeling the effects of yesterday's race (and the hangover).

Monday 9th

13km in about an hour running around Central Park with Peter and Dave from Telstra. Very sore legs.

Tuesday 10th

This day didn't exist. Crossed the Pacific Ocean and it was gone in an instant.

Wednesday 11th

Suddenly reality bites. Arrive at Sydney Airport at 7.40am, rush home, shower, into work and final leave work at 11:50pm. No time for a run. Probably a good thing as very, very tired from the last few days.

Starting to taper

Just an easy 10km at lunchtime. Out to Darling Point (15:15) and then back via Garden Island (faster tempo running) out around Lady Macquarie's Chair (another faster stretch) and finishing the short cut through the Botanical Gardens. 40:01 all up which is almost identical to last Friday. Quite warm by the end. Followed by stretching.
Looking forward to New York now. I'll be on the flight this time tomorrow...

Pain in the Domain

Head out to Pain in the Domain at lunchtime where I led the first and second groups combined. Good to catch up with Ray, Tim, Chris, Simon and a couple of the guys from Telstra who are heading to New York for the weekend. Quite a good session - pushed all the reps. Ray looks to be back in form pushing most of the reps too. He overtook me as usual in the last 100m of the 709m Farm Cove rep where I recorded 2:00. Pretty pleased as it was into a headwind for most of the way and was stopped in my tracks half way around by tourists. Felt as though I had strength in the legs to muster another effort when Ray came by.

Plenty of stretching and 1km warm down for 7km all up.

The male competitive streak

10-11km early this morning. Ran my usual 8km route but started along Griffiths Street to Condamine and through North Harbour Reserve and added a loop to Shelly Beach and back. Started out very easy and still a little sore from Saturday's race in the flats. About 6kms in on the way to Shelly Beach and ran past the Indian chap I often see on the Northern Beaches - very easy flowing runner who covers the gound quickly. Anyway, turned around at Shelly and tried to catch up to have a chat. He must have been about 40 seconds in front so I had to speed up a lot to do so. Eventually got within about 2 yeards by North Steyne whereuopon he realised I was catching and so sped up himself. It just so happened he was travelling back towards Fairlight as well so we had a ridiculous situation where both of us were running at pace about 5 yards apart! So was knackered by the time I got home and crawled up Suwarrow street.
41:35 all up.

When running's fun

Head out at 7am for an easy 17km. North Head circuit but going via Manly Lagoon rather than straight dowen to North Steyne. Slow to start with but gradually picked up the pace. Overtook an older chap just before Manly Hospital and then overtook him again on the way back from North Head (he didn't do the Fairfax walking track). We started chatting and turns it it is Dave Robinson - Sydney Strider over 60 runner. He was having an easy run before heading down to the Melbourne Marathon next weekend. We had a good chat - turns out he's an ex-sub 30 10km runner and 1:52 800m runner who grew up in Kenya running with Kip Keino. Completed over 100 marathons. Fascinating bloke who's only just got back into running in the last year after 15 years off. I'll catch up with him at the Striders 10km at Lane Cove.

Total time was 1:12:51 but took it easy whilst having a chat.

5km Time Trial

Showed up at 7am for my first CR 5km time trial around the Bay. Head out with Easy Tiger, Kanser and Sparkie on 16:30, with only Uncle Dave behind us at 16:00. Kanser pushed for the first 2km and I just tried to stick alongside him which meant us setting a good pace. Felt comfortable but knew we were travelling quite quickly. Tried to push to open a gap approaching the turn onto the main road at around 3km. Managed a small gap and was helped by starting to overtake some of the earlier runners. Then heard Sparkie catch up approaching 4km (couldnt tell whether it was him or Uncle Dave and was determined not to turn around to have a look!). Started to tire over the last km - not helped by not knowing where the finish line was. Put in a final burst when I saw where people were stopping. Finished up with 16:18. Sparkie finished on 16:22, Kanser on 16:28 and Easy Tiger on 16:47. Uncle Dave seemed disappointed with his 16:05.

Great event and good to put faces to some names. 2km jog before and 3km afterwards for 10km all up.

Easing down

Friday

Easy 10km out to Darling Point and back via Lady Macquarie's Chair and back the short cut through the Botanical Gardens. 15:15 to Darling Point. 40:07 all up. Two fast patches at 10km race pace - along Garden Island and along the water section to Lady Macquarie's Chair. Easy Tiger massge late afternoon. Hoping for sub 16:30 tomorrow morning but concerned with interruptions in training since North Head due to the injury and last week's illness.

Thursday

Rest. Too much work and then home sharp for dinner at the Bather's Pavilion (fantastic).

Knackered Wednesday

14km run to work. Felt very tired all the way and tried just to maintain form. Fortunately no niggles or injuries to worry about. Reached Spit Junction in 27:22 and work in 58:02. Weather cool with little wind.

Tired Tuesday

Long day today getting up before 6am to head out to Terrey Hills for a strenuous game of golf with Mac Bank before heading into the office. Ran home this evening despite not feeling in the mood. Felt tired all the way. 32:05 at Spit Junction finishing up with a 58:18 (have decided to stop the watch when caught at traffic lights from now on so the times might look a little quicker).
Not looking forward to running back in tomorrow morning. That will be 60kms in 4 days which is unprecedented for me. I think I'll miss intervals on Thursday (have back to back work meetings in any case) and ease down on Thursday and Friday to try and post a faster time at the CR 5km time trial on Saturday morning. Figure it's more important to get a confidence boost for NY the following Saturday by posting a faster time rather than pushing too hard this week and suffering on Saturday morning.

Long Monday

Ran out to Darling Point and back with Robbo and then headed around Lady Macquarie Chair and the Opera House and then back again by myself. About 15km all up in 1:05:26. Robbo did his usual fast patch along the Garden Island stretch which raised the heart beat. Nice and warm with a bit of a breeze around Farm Cove.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Friday and Saturday

Felt miserable with a very bad cold. I had a sore throat during the interval session on Thursday but was hoping it was just a temporary thing. I think that session must have triggered the full on cold as I felt very under (and bad tempered) on Friday and equally so on Saturday. May have rested in any case on Friday but disappointed to miss a speed session on Saturday.

Sunday

Woke up feeling much better. Still had a streaming nose but decided to head out for 16km regardless. Ran the usual North Head circuit but started from the lagoon car park and ran the first 3km to Shelly Beach with Alec. Probably a little shorter than runnng from home but was at Shelly Beach in 14:30 after an easy first 3km so reached that point in about the same time as I would normally running from home. Felt pretty easy around North Head (45:20 back at the stone arch) and then slowed down considerably over the final 5km feeling lethargic due to the effects of the cold. Finished in 1:05:55. Weather was very warm (apparently it reached 33C in the afternoon) but not too humid so not unpleasant. Spent lunchtime on Curly beach (great bodysurfing - water was just the right temperature) and afternoon in the garden to round out a nice day.

Plan for this week is same as last (but without the illness) - 2 speed sessions interspersed by 15km runs - and with the Coolrunning 5km time trial on Saturday morning.

Intervals (with people!)

Met up with Ray and Chris and ran 5 x 1200m (approx - probably closer to 1100m) along Hickson Road from the roundabout to the far side of the road you come down on the SMH route. On the right hand side of the road each time so shorter on the return leg due to the bend. Strict 2 minute rest between each. Intervals went 3:45 (stopped in our tracks by a lorry), 3:41; 3:43; 3:39 and 3:44. Pretty pleased with the way it went as I felt comfortable during each rep - didn't have to push as hard as I would the 900m reps around Farm Cove but started to tire towards the end of the last rep.

Easy jog there and back. About 10km all up.

Wednesday

14km run to work. Warm and a little humid. Wore backpack but only a light one without work shoes. 27:10 (again) at Spit Junction but had to wait for 1 minute for lights so set off again on 28:10. 59:39 in total but again had to wait for about 1 minute at lights in the City so the run wasn't as slow as the time suggested. Still, quite easy and no problems with the knee.

Pain

Ran Pain in the Domain followed by a 1km jog cooling down. Hot and humid for this time of year and really felt the session towards the end. Pushed each of the early reps very hard and was pleased to still manage 1:58 on the long rep after tucking behind Ray for the last 100m. Maybe the Easy Tiger massage last night had an immediate effect. Struggled on the reps following that one though.
All up 7km.

Quick update

Went camping over the weekend at Wiseman's Ferry so limited training. Here's the quick update:

Friday
Rest. Spent day picking up camping gear and roof box and driving to Wiseman's. Fantastic weather. Spotted our first live wombat before the kids started shouting at it and frightened the living daylights out of it.

Saturday
Easy 10km. Ran quite quickly for 20 minutes along the road hugging the Hawkesbury then turned around and tried to get back in under that time. Kicked hard and managed it quite easily for a 38:45.

Sunday
Rest, but feeling guilty about lack of training with New York approaching. Had a great day though settling into a few beers at the beautiful pub in St Albans and then Kirsten driving us all home.

Monday
14km run into work. Beautiful weather - perfect conditions (clear skies but still slightly cool). Ran with the backpack on carrying my work shoes so wasn't light. I think this put strain on the knee as it started to feel sore around Kirribilli. Stopped and stretched and this immediately eased the pain so worth bearing in mind.
Despite the backpack it turned out to be a quick run - probably due to the easy past 3 days. 27:10 at Spit Junction and 57:25 to work. Felt very strong running over the bridge. Hope to put in a solid week this week to put things back on track for NY in 19 days time.

Intervals (alone)

Blown out by Ray who's saving himself for Sunday's marathon and silence from Tim so 5x900m around Farm Cove by myself (and thousands of tourists) with the usual strict 2 minute recovery. Managed 2:50, 2:50, 2:50, 2:50 and 2:48. Can't say I'm not consistent. Times look slow as I had the detour on the grass where they are mending the sea wall which costs about 2 seconds per rep so not a bad session but didn't feel that way whilst doing them. Wasn't in the right frame of mind so each one felt like a struggle. Still, taking into account the detour (and being stopped in my tracks by a tourist on the first rep) it was quite a decent session.

Knee same as usual.

Filler day

Just an easy 6km around the Domain, Botanical Gardens and Opera House with three fast spells at about 3:10km pace - around Domain pitch, on back straight to Lady Macquarie's chair and reverse of the long stretch on PITD course. Did the final one in 2:10 into a strong headwind so not bad. No knee pain. Saw Tara earlier in day and she said it was still inflamed so still need to be careful.

Have sore throat tonight so will see how I feel tomorrow. Sent email to Tim and Ray seeing whether they are up for an interval session.

First Return Speed Session

Easy jog around Domain and Botanical Gardens followed by 3x900m gate to gate around Farm Cove with strict 2 minutes in between. 2:48, 2:50 and 2:45. Wind assisted the first and third. Detour onto the grass half the way around added about 2 seconds to the times so pleased with those (particularly the last). Would have done 5 but had to rush back for Banking partners departmental meeting. About 7km in total. No knee pain.

Easy Monday

Just an easy 8km today out to Darling Point and back. Reached Darling Point in 14:55 and finished up in 32:12 after taking it very easy on the way back. No real problems with the knee. Bumped into Iain on way out and on return. He was doing his usual Kenyan style quick pace followed by a crawl.
Well, Manly may have stuffed up but at least the Swannies reached the prelimary finals. All I need now is for Shevchenko and Danny Webber to start scoring in my spurious football team....

Sunday run

16km around North Head. 63:36. 44:20 at corner above Manly Hospital. Felt great all the way around. Started to feel knee on hill climbing up to Bower Street and was gradually more aware of it until the end of the Fairfax walking track at North Head. Went very quickly (with tailwind) from North Head back to Manly Hospital but was still surprised at the time. Took it easy from there home. Knee eased up when I was striding out which was very pleasing. No doubt quick time was due to an easy week. Need to start the interval sessions again.

Friday
Approximately 10km around the Domain and Botanical gardens. 40 mins exact (turned around after exactly 20 mins - made a slight detour on the way back due to some Japanese film crew getting over- excited around Farm Cove).
Went pretty quik to start with and finished pretty quick too. Coudn't feel knee until 25 mins in and then it gradually became more noticeable. Plenty of stretches at end which eased it a lot.
Too many beers in evening watching Manly throw away the finals to Newcastle. Bloody useless. Wonder whether I'll be up to a run tomorrow.

Wednesday and Thursday

Thursday

Approx 9km - one loop of the Domain and then run up to Spit Junction. 38 minutes. Went quite quick again - feeling very fresh with the absence of any interval sessions or long runs this week. Miserable weather - wet and windy. Didn't run at lunch as had another visit to Tara Lal. Aware of knee on run but no pain and no after effects.

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday

Intention was to do another easy 8km route via Darling Point. Headed out and felt great reaching Darling Point in 14:30. Took it easier on the return for 31:15. Plenty of stretching of the hamstrings afterwards. Was aware of knee injury on second half of run but without pain. Knee felt fine in the evening running for Jet Cat - better than Tuesday evening - so feeling a lot more positive.

Tentative return

Well, rested Sunday and Monday and visited Tara Lal the physiotherapist on Monday afternoon. Plan is to ice the tendon behind the knee and bring down the inflammation and stretch my hamstrings and calfs. Both are far too tight. Did a very easy 8km with Beaky over lunch and felt no pain from the knee, but running down to the Jet Cat tonight I could feel it again. Still plan to run very easily and keep on stretching and bringing down the inflammation. The stretching is definitely making the whole area feel better.

Great news and bad

Had a fantastic race at North Head. Felt great from the very start, trying to push in the first 2kms. Richard High went past just before 2 kms and built up a 15 metre gap (almost identical to City 2 Surf). Ran with Brightshoes until 5km and he was giving km splits which suggested we were ahead of 34min pace. Tried just to concentrate on not allowing Richard to extend the gap. With 2.5kms to go I was still feeling strong so decided to up the pace and maintain consistency without trying to bridge the gap too quickly. Gradually reeled in Tim Ashby and Richard and kicked hard in the last km to record 33:50 or thereabouts. Apparently we went through 3km in 9:50 and 5km in 16:36. Given I had a very fast last km it suggests pretty average 5-8km (3:30s or thereabouts where I was supposed to apply the pressure) which is something to bear in mind.

Over the moon about the time and who I beat (Richard was about 33:55, Tim Cradock 34:08, Kanser 34:40, Ray (after missing the start) about 34:30) but knee has been very painful since. Will avoid running now until I see a physio as soon as possible next week.

Easy does it

Very easy 23 minutes around the Botanical Gardens at lunchtime with two faster stretches just to stretch the legs. No real issues with the right knee during the run but a little sore this evening going down stairs. Still intending to give tomorrow morning a blast.

Enforced rest

Rest day today. Mainly because of a niggle in the right knee which becomes more sore when I run but also viewing it as beneficial for the 10km race on Saturday morning.
Looking for a low 34 minute time but have no idea how it'll go.

Initial Post

OK, this is my first post on to my initial Blog. Not sure what I'm going to write about, I expect this will become a running diary and general stream of consciousness.
Ran 10km at lunch with Beaky in about 43 minutes. Right knee still feeling sore and felt even worse while running for the ferry (as usual). Hoping to rest it before 10km race at North Head on Saturday morning.