Sunday trails

Timmy rocked up at 6:10am and we were off at 6:30am picking up Dicky Green and Justin before meeting the Hamburglar, Jonathan W, Jamie, Paul, John Bowe and Jonathan's mate at Manly Dam. Very easy pace throughout. Felt fine on all the trails but poor Young Timmy is an urban dweller and started to feel it at 15km. We were originally talking about handicap times for Six Foot bets and Timmy was umming and ahhing over 10mins, but by 20km I'd already offered him 20mins based on his form on the hills. Could be a deliberate ruse mind. Maybe he's sharking me. If so, he put in a performance Streep would be proud of as at 23km I was forced to run straight home as fast as I could to pick up the car and come back to pick the poor fella up.

Strange old run. Plenty of trails around Red Hill, going all the way down to Narrabeen Lagoon, doing a 100m sprint on the synthetic track (Hamburglar's got some serious speed) before heading up the hills again to the highest point on the Northern Beaches. Felt comfortable today which was encouraging, albeit was panting a bit at the end due to a quick final 8km. Just short of 30km all up.

Kirst home tonight. Yippeeeeeeeeee!

Old Manly route

Out last night until 2am drinking JJ's finest red wine to see him off to the UK. Managed my first win at poker and came home with $450. So I woke up today feeling very average. Dad then gave me a timeslot of 2pm to do my run - in the heat of the day. I'd planned on the 7.5km route fast but with a throbbing head and red wine legs I stood outside in the heat wondering what the hell I was doing. Plodded through a 2km warm up then just went for it telling myself it was character building stuff.

First kms in 3:28 and 3:23 then started to struggle on the hills and through the crowds. Picked it up again near Queenscliff to finish in 26:53 (3:36's). Pleased to get under 27 in the circumstances but it's 90s down on my PB from post C2S last year. Followed it with a 2km warmdown

Haven't felt my achilles at all in the past 3 weeks so I ran without my heel raises. Feels so much better doing so. I'll gradually introduce this during shorter runs from now.

Easy Friday

Just John Bowe and Russell today. Headed over to Cremorne in the beautiful weather for an easy 13km. Forgot my watch again, don't know what's going on with my brain. Doesn't bode well for poker night tonight.

Feeling better every day. Could be on for a bit of a jump forward soon - just two more weeks...

59kms for week.

HuRTS 8 x 800m

Rocked up at the Art Gallery just past 12.25pm to find Mikey had marched the troops off already. I've been a bit busy at work and feeling a bit doozy, plus I didn't have my watch on, so wondered for most of the jog down to Rushcutters whether I had the right session or not, feeling a bit depressed about the prospect of doing a speed session solo. So I did cartwheels when I saw the crowd assembled on the perfect Rushcutters surface. Big discussion on what constituted 800m and we were off, on a rolling cycle of 4 minutes.

The usual crowd upfront of Bartles, Scotty, Tucks and J-Fen. I felt great on the first 4 reps and then things generally went downhill. Hopefully just residual effects of the bug. Tucks seemed to have the same problem, sitting out a couple of reps. All done around 2:24-2:26 pace but who knows whether it's 800m or 750m. Bloody annoying not be able to run barefoot, at times I felt like I was running in a pair of high heels.

Absolutely rooted running home, even had to walk up the stairs. It was hot out there today and my singlet was drenched.

Wednesday MLR

Had to get out today. Joints in shoulders and arms still feeling achey but couldn't stand being stuck in my office for another lunchtime. Was late for the start so spent the first 3km trying to catch everyone up. Did so at Rushcutters, where I joined MC, Kanser, Jonathan W, BW, Indrajeet, Russel and the Kilted Scot with Rob C joining us later. Lots of chatting. Kanser believes Timmy is weak pschologically in no longer wanting to join in any of the tough HuRTS sessions.

Easy pace the whole way. Legs felt great after all the rest. Upper body still aching.

At the end while stretching, Bartles runs by after some sekrit training. We then chat and he proceeds to tell me how he, J-Fen and Scotty were flying yesterday, are all running North Head and will smash me. First run back and bent double, I had to agree with him.

Not good

Set out on my hilly North Head/Tania Park 27km route with the intention of attacking all the hills. Attacked the first hill for about 20m and was just listless with no energy. Lasted 5km before hauling my ass back home. Need to shake this bug.

Fitting it in

With Kirst in the UK and 4 kids to look after, the only way I could do a run was to go down to Campbell Pde, get Bec running her 7 laps and Maggie & Charlie going around on their bikes. So I did 10km doing loops of Campbell Pde. As boring as a Lindop extended anecdote but got it done. Never felt comfortable despite feeling heaps better this morning from the Sinusitis. Ran 39:33 doing the first 5km in 20:40. Feeling pretty weak now so I've not kicked it completely yet.

Tim A, I'm relying on the antibiotics rather than your Granny's special remedies. Is this some trick to get me even more crook for Six Foot? Take it you're running again this year? If so, see you atop Pluviometer as per usual!

Sicknote

Sinusitis again. Got the drugs in early this time though.

93km for week.

Tiring MLR

Dropped all work and headed out at lunchtime for the usual route. MC, Gus MacGillivray, his mate, Marty and a few others were there. Very slow to start with. Then half way around Centennial MC says he's only doing 1 lap so I push on with Gus and his mate. We then bump into Kanser, Gus and his mate disappear (you have to ask questions about that sort of behaviour in Centennial) so I complete another lap with Kanser and he accompanies me up to Woollahra Gates. We pushed the pace a bit when running together which I kept up all the way home. Thing is, it was getting pretty warm by 1.30pm and that must have taken a bit out of me as I've been feeling crap all afternoon.

All up 18.66km in 1:23:50 (4:28's).

HuRTS 2 x 20mins

Only the 2nd time we've done this session and I was feeling up for it this morning. Been feeling strong over the last few days so decided to push it today. Seems like everyone else decided to do the same thing as by 3km I wasn't feeling so strong anymore.

I ran in the front group with J-Fen, Bartles, Tucks and Scottyo. Bartles and I did most of the work until the Opera House when J-Fen pushed the pace. At the OPT, Scottyo joined him and I was holding on, not relishing the return journey. I finished with Tucks and Bartles at 5.88km (3:24's) with J-Fen and Scotty about 10m in front.

I was expecting to be holding on on the return (after a 3 minute rest) but found myself running at the front again. Scotty took the front running under the Harbour Bridge but didn't really push on. Then Tucks took over at the Opera House and did. From then I basically ran with Bartles all the way back, feeling better on the hills. Finished up with 5.83km (3:25's) which was much better than I expected. Surprised to see J-Fen and Scotty drop off the pace given how strong they've been recently. But the big news is that Tucks has come into form very nicely, pulling away with ease today to finish 25m in front of us. All very timely for Six Foot Track.

Varying the run home

Ran home late after work but decided to attack all the hills to try and get the heart rate up. Realised when I was doing this that I just don't get my heart rate up often enough with all this longer distance easy running I've been doing. Bloody hard work. I think it's time I concentrated on more aerobic work.

29:21 at Toyota Garage and 55:32 all up. Quicker as a result of the faster hills and there are plenty of them. Got a good shout from Clive Cooper driving by along Sydney Rd towards the end.

Feel good Sunday

Nippers Carnival up at Narrabeen all morning (where the kids excelled in mediocrity) so headed out late this afternoon for the usual route to Shelley Beach with Billy and Charlie on their bikes. Charlie has just upgraded to a bigger bike and is much faster as a result. I was feeling great so we bounced along at 4min kms the whole way. 11.5km in 46:00. Said hello to Mike Baird at Queenscliff. Good confidence booster after yesterday's long one.

Long Saturday

Out at 6am with Macca and Big Sam for the usual Narrabeen route but completing the lap of the lake. Great morning, time passed quickly with plenty of chat, at least until 26km when Sam remarked on how good he was feeling when suddenly the pace increased and the talk decreased. We ran the next 7km pretty quick averaging sub4's.

All up 35.7km in 2:39 something (about 4:28's). Felt stronger today so maybe it's starting to come together.

It was close, but I made it through

Sunday tipped me over the edge. I picked up a case of Endaitis* on Sunday and by Monday was struggling big time. Went through 1.5 toilet rolls in my office in blowing my nose. It was effective at keeping people from bothering me but resulted in me having to suffer alone. Tuesday was even worse, Wednesday was slightly better (probably equivalent to a normal person's pneumonia) but Thursday was markedly better. Ventured out for an easy 10km along the flat route from work in 42:13.

Today I joined the depleted Friday squad (MC is ignoring all HuRT Squad etiquette in advertising a Friday swim squad, in between trying to make a buck in selling some dodgy musical theatre tickets) for the normal Monday route. The two JB's, King James, the Kilted Scot, Russell and Clyde were there along with others. Turned over 13.27km in 59:13 (4:27's). Felt great running it, the three days rest doing wonders for the legs but feel very tired and depleted now, probably with some lingering remnants of the virus at play. I've got 36km planned with Big Sam and Macca in the morning so I'm hoping it's gone by then. The tiredness may have something to do with joining in with Laser Zone at Billy's party along eight other 9 year olds this afternoon. I kicked their ass. You were given a great printout after the game showing loads of statistics (number of kills, % hit rate, number of times you were killed etc.) which I thought of photocopying for the blog but in the end my modesty determined it wouldn't be appropriate.

72km for the week.




*A particularly virulent strain of manflu, brought on by overtraining, drinking to excess and constant texting from Young Timmy.

Long Sunday getting faster

Trotted down to the ABC Pool after waiting a few minutes for Kanser and immediately felt good today. Caught up with Big Sam and, with Kanser nowhere to be seen, we headed off. Probably a good job he didn't join us today as I think the pace may have been a little too hot for him.

We took it easy for the first 12kms up to Narrabeen then, after stopping for our usual first water and Gu, Big Sam decided to put the foot down. I think he was running angry after yesterday's performance and I felt similar. Anyway, from then on it was a good pace all the way home feeling great, even pushing the Griffin St hill. Glorious morning made for a great run. The splits tell the story:

5:11, 4:28, 4:43, 4:28, 4:24, 4:24, 4:12, 4:15, 4:20, 4:03, 4:14, 4:13, 3:57, 4:00, 4:07, 4:00, 4:14, 4:01, 4:03, 4:08, 4:02, 3:56, 3:53, 3:51, 4:00, 4:02, 3:52, 4:15, 5:16, 4:00, 4:15.

All up 31.02km in 2:11:05 (4:13's). Somewhere in all that Sam probably ran a 10km faster than he did at Homebush yesterday.

I then did 4.54km with the elder kids down to Queenscliff in 25:10 (5:33's).

Striders 10km Homebush - 11th in 34:32

Well, not the start to the season I was hoping for but it's under the belt.

Caught a lift with Ben and Big Sam and arrived with plenty of time for some run throughs to get the heart rate up. Big crowd at the start with some very good runners fronting up - Tom do Canto, Uncle Dave, CT, Farrugia, the Horne, Tucks etc. I lined up in the second row (behind Timmy, I think he was racing EJ to the first corner - and lost) and set off pretty hard (at least I thought it was). However, before 1km was reached the front group of 6 had already gapped Tucks and I by about 20m. At the top of the hills on to the footpath and crowd behind of Tongey, Bleasel, Dean Degan, Brendan Davies and an Asian chap I didn't recognise had caught Tucks and I. I struggled around the very wet horsetrack and was gapped by Tucks and the Asian chap. At 5km (16:52) they had about 20m on me. The time at 5km depressed me a bit and I immediately lost concentration and started to drift. Bleasel then came past followed by Tongey and I was running with Dean and Brendan. It stayed that way until the end, with me pulling ahead of them in the final km.

Legs felt heavy the whole way. I thought I was turning them over OK but apparently not. Pretty ugly negative split. But it's in the bag and the training continues. The body feels great with no niggles.

Cooled down with Tucks, Timmy, Kanser, and Big Sam. We all struggled today. My head to heads looks a bit lop-sided but at least I got Timmy on the handicap system.

Couple of photos:

50m to the finish...



Me gurning, Tucks, Kanser looking fucked, Young Timmy and Big Sam...

Friday fitting it in

Ran 5.9km to Lime St for a massage with the Tiger then ran 3.7km back. 4:07 pace there, 5:07 pace back. Bumped into Fast Charlie and Warwick on the way back so ran with them.

Tiger diagnosed my knee issue then set to work on it and it turned out a treat.

Just back from a 4 hour boozy client lunch which isn't ideal prep for tomorrow but I'll try my best.

105km for the week.

Not Hickson Road HuRTS

Had a few too many Coopers Pale Ale after the swim carnival last night and only a few hours sleep so it was a very easy session today. Jogged down late to Hickson Road and met the squad coming back on their second rep. Joined in with the second group for reps 3, 4 and 5 doing 3:39's, 3:32's and 3:25's (per km, not total time) feeling OK. Then jogged back with Tucks, MC, Todd and Big Sam. All up 10.27km in 43:50 (4:16's).

Wednesday MLR

Just MC and King James today with James peeling off at Fox Studios on the 2nd lap. Very easy chatting all the way. Took the concrete path around Centennial due to the rain so a bit longer. 18.69km in 1:27:02 (4:39's).

Excitement is mounting in the office for the annual swim carnival this evening. Here are a couple of photos showing the glorious AAR banking team and their captain..

HuRTS Tempo

Lower crowd than usual with Kanser leading a small band of breakaways at Rushcutters. Had a quick chat to LF Charlie, Tucks, Bartles and Durante before the start, with each of them admiring my spray-on tan, and then we were off. Tucks was heading the front group which included Scooty O, Bartles, Jase and Macca. Just as he was pushing us all into discomfort, he pulled up under the Harbour Bridge complaining of a bad stitch. I think this injury is related to the "tweaked heartstring" which MC and Young Timmy are often prone to.

We turned at 6.27km and Scotty started to push the pace. We then swapped pacing duties all the way back with Bartles perennially on the shoulder. Scotty pushed ahead in a final run in at the Art Gallery and I finished back in 44:44 with Bartles, running strongly today, a stride or two behind.

Garmin said 12.55km at 3:33 pace but I was wearing the 405 today, not the 610, and the 405 measures short under Circular Quay for some reason. G-Maps suggests 12.4km so about 3:36 pace all up. Pretty pleased with that in the humid conditions.

Needless to say I sweated so much my spray-on tan ended up on my cotton singlet.

Monday meander

Finally got some work to do which meant I missed the start time for the HuRTS Monday jog so caught up with them at the Opera House. Result was a very easy 13.3km in 59 odd minutes at about 4:27's. Finished up with Tim Cradock (who's getting back into shape), MC, Mark M and Russell. This Monday session seems to attract loads to start with but very few do the whole thing. Hot today. Sydney finally breached the 30C barrier.

Body feeling very good though with the knee much better and both achilles the best they've felt since September.

Our place on Berry Mt over the long weekend was great, the only downside being the grounds which were full of leeches. We were examining one fat one on the doorstep on Saturday afternoon which Charlie splatted with one of Bec's Haivanas and which released a load of blood (only then to crawl off - we got it with vinegar later). I took my shoes off a few minutes later and realised it must have just fallen off my ankle - this was the state of my sock..

Long run around the Valley

Went a bit shorter today but found a 24km loop along Kangaroo Valley Road, then Tourist Rd, up to the Camberrawa Lookout then down Moss Vale Road to Kangaroo Valley and finishing with a gruelling 6km climb back up Berry Mountain to our house. Took it easy on a beautiful day and took some photos along the way. Struggled on the final climb after 20km where thoughts turned to Six Foot reminding me just how hard it is. Finished up with a 4.5km jog with Bec for 28.8km all up. Slow at an average of 4:44 pace but plenty of hills.

Here are the photos:

Looking back down to Kangaroo Valley from Tourist Road:



Camberrawa Lookout:



Climbing out of the morning mist up Berry Mountain towards the end:

Up and down

11.1km from the house near the top of Berry Mountain on a route along Tourist Rd trying to plan tomorrow's longer run. Not a flat section on the whole route but felt great today. 46:something but it was 4:14's after the first 2km (all up) in 10:00 and the final 2km (all down) in 7:00. Feel as though I'm recovering well at the mo following each easy day. Having said that, I'll go shorter tomorrow after two very long Sunday runs in the past fortnight.

Kangaroo Valley

12km from the village and then up Upper Kangaroo River Road easy in 52:08 (4:20's). Right knee still sore after trying the ski exercises last night (the ones I used for Runner's knee). Didn't work, just made things more sore. Aggravated my adductor which I think is the root of the problem.

Saw some Kangaroos in the village at the end. Never seen Kangaroos in Kangaroo Valley before. I thought the name was a joke.

127km for week.

HuRT Squad come to Manly

Australia Day today so Kanser, J-Fen, Bartles, Timmy, Big Sam and Macca all came over to my place for a 16.5km tempo at 3:45 pace. It was wet but warm and pretty humid - so much so that I had sweat dripping off my face from 2km in. Went through the first km in 3:41ish but my Garmin was throwing out random figures so I was running blind and relying on the others. All stayed as a group for the first few km before Big Sam and Timmy dropped off the back running together.

Pace was slightly uncomfortable the whole way. If you ever felt comfortable, you knew the pace had dropped to 3:48 or thereabouts. After the turn at Shelley Beach J-Fen picked the pace up and we pretty much ran 3:40's all the way back. Kanser dropped off at 11kmish and must have been dehydrated as he started to feel sick. Coming back towards Campbell Parade I suddenly started feeling pretty good so took a turn at the front pushing the pace. With a couple of km to go it was just J-Fen and myself and we ran back together to the finish. All up 16.4km in 1:01:06 (3:43's).

Now off to Berry Mountain.

MLR Wednesday

Usual Wednesday run in the rain (albeit warm and muggy) with MC, Todd and King James and with The Kilted Scot and The Unkilted Yorkshireman peeling off after one lap of Centennial. Very easy pace. Slightly worried about right knee.

18.55km in 1:27:29 (4:42's).

Phish Food, Chocolate Fudge Brownie or Triple Caramel Chunk? Tonight's dilemma.

HuRTS 4 x 10mins

Crowd was bigger than Ben Hur today. We may need to make arrangements to split the group soon as it's starting to become a bit unwieldy.

This is a tough session. Tried just to hang on to the back of the front group today but they were going at a pace and that was tough enough. J-Fen and Scotty O were leading the charge with Tucks, Bartles and I trying to keep up. We failed, reaching the gates in 10:03 with J-Fen and Scotty about 15 seconds in front. The next rep they just stepped up the pace again while I flailed around in the background, at least running consistent pace. The third rep was weird as I felt good and drifted to the front so tried to keep the pace honest and get to the gates in under 10mins. Just managed it with Scotty and J-Fen hanging on. Final rep I was spent so just tried to keep the same pace. Times for the Gate to Gates were as follows:

10:03
9:46
9:53
9:51

That's not bad but I was way behind Jonathan and Scott who ran it as fast as I think anyone has.

Had a massage this arvo at Jackie's with Amanda, who I reckon is the best one there. She's the female version of Jean-Louis (although more attractive) and did a great job.

Monday meander

Out with the squad at lunch for the usual Monday route. Had a chat with LF Charlie (moving to Clontarf, we have another local!), LJ, MC, Craig, Jonathan W and Luke. Then picked up the pace a bit running back with a chap called James. All up 15.66km in 1:09:52 (4:27's). Felt great today, complete reverse of last Monday so must have recovered better from the long run.

Big weekend for Maggie. Saturday she started swimming for the first time with any floaties (I can sense Timmy pencilling the gags already) and yesterday I taught her how to ride a bike without stabilisers. She then went on to ride for 3.5km. I gave up chasing her around Campbell Parade so just decided to take a video from the in-field.

Maggie riding

Right knee feels a bit sore, like it's bruised under the kneecap, so need to keep an eye on that.

Another long 'un

Up at 5.30am again to meet Big Sam and Richard Banks for a run up the beaches. Richard joined us because he's just been asked by the Japanese to run some marathon in a town south of Fukuoka which is twinned with Townsville - off the back of having won the Townsville marathon last year. He's only been given 3 weeks notice so is putting in some quick prep.

Coolish again (at least it was at 5.30am) but the km's flew by chatting away. Felt much easier for the first 20km than last week having taken it easier yesterday. We looped around the Narrabeen Track and got very excited about a new gate they've opened accessing Cromer Golf Course allowing you to circumnavigate Narrabeen lagoon without the risk of cutting your nads off while trying to jump the sharp fence. Rather than complete the circuit though we ran back to Dee Why making the run only 31.08km in 2:20 something (about 4:30's). I then did an extra 4.5km with the kids to Nippers so we'll call it 35km all up.

Felt tired from 20km onwards which was a bit disappointing given how good I'd felt up until then.

Not a tempo

Woke up with a hangover after going to a party last night so decided against a long tempo run, thinking I'd just screw my body. Did an easy 10.3km instead with Charlie, who is getting quicker, on his bike. Awesome quote from Charlie this morning; "When I grow up I want to have big ears like you, Dad.".

10.3km in 46:29 (4:29's). Felt pretty good. Ran past Thamal who was running with Flynn on his bike. I'm starting a trend.

Run to work

Hauled my ass into work this morning in what I think is a PW time - 61:09. Didn't care. Enjoyed the plod.

120km for the week with some decent quality work.

HuRTS 8 x 800m

Over to Rushcutters on another warm day with a smaller, but hardcore, group in attendance. Still decent sized mind. Aparna who works for me (and an ex-Sydney Uni runner) was making her debut. With news that J-Fen is leaving KPMG and Andrea Ilakovac having gone, I'm planting some seeds for success in this year's JPMorgan team.

I was tired but just wanted to get through the session solidly. Tucks and Scotty O were taking the front running. I'm lacking confidence to attack these VO2 Max sessions so was sitting behind Kanser and Bartles on the first lap of each rep before trying to go harder on the second lap and close the gap on the front 2. The reps settled down into going through the first 400m in 73/74 with the second 400m being a bit quicker. Times were:

2:31
2:28
2:27
2:27
2:26
2:26
2:27
2:24

All done with a 100s rest in between.

11km all up.

Wednesday MLR

Massage with the Tiger this am then out with a decent sized group of LC, Big Sam, Jonathan W, Laura, King James, Todd, Russell and a few others for the usual double Centennial Wednesday route. Sunny and warm today. Sweated buckets out there but a very easy pace so not too tough on the fragile body.

All up 18.35km in 1:26:13 (4:42's).

But, big news of the day and one which all loyal readers will be very excited about is the announcement of a new blog! It promises to be more interesting than Kanser's, more frequent than Enda's, less French than Jamie's and have fewer spelling mistakes than Timmy's. It is Fats' Blog. Better still, he's agreed to run under the HuRT Squad team for Six Foot, so we have a chance of beating Gramps' Army this year.

Finally, here is quote from an article announcing the probables for the Kenyan Olympic marathon squad:

“Arriving at the names was not easy since 150 men and 50 women made the A-Standard qualifications," AK chief and IAAF Council Member Isaiah Kiplagat told a packed press conference. "Selectors looked at consistency, the ability to win without pace making, discipline and commitment to represent the country when deciding the names.”

150!!

HuRTS 8 x 5mins

The whole of Sydney turned out for the session today. Everyone was there (other than Enda, whom I'm assuming Kanser has chained to the desk) - even Durante, again. MC's getting scared of the chap's latent talent already. It was pretty chaotic but we managed to get through the session.

I was still tired and sore before we started. Told myself it was one of those sessions you just had to get through. Ran most of the reps with Tucks, Andy and Macca. Fats and Timmy joined us for the first few. They felt a bit easier as we rolled through them and the muscles warmed up a bit. All run at 3:25 to 3:30 pace other than the final one at 3:16 pace.

14km all up and 17 days in a row. I've mentioned Thurston's theory on 17 consecutive days previously (although he probably made it up when pissed). It sounds easy but is surprisingly difficult to achieve, at least for me. Something, be it work, hangover, home commitments, injury or sickness, always seems to get in the way. I only managed it twice all of last year, including in January when I ran every day - like I hope to this month.

Super sore

Walking like John Wayne this morning so headed out for a short one just to ease the body. MC, Tucks, Jonathan W, TB, Craig, Kanser and others all in attendance. Even bumped into the Lovely Lisa making a welcome return to training around Farm Cove. Very easy pace and body felt slightly better for it afterwards, particularly after a good stretch. 11.42km in 52:17 (4:35's).

Got the splits from Saturday's race..

Super long

Up at 5.30am (yikes) for a long run with Big Sam. We did our pre-Gold Coast route up to Narrabeen Caravan Park and around the Lake coming back via Dee Why front and the beaches. The first few km was one foot in front of the other stuff in 4:48's wondering how I was going to get through this. Then we hit our stride between 10km and 20km on the new path around the Lake and struggled home from Dee Why. Sam has bags of stamina. Despite very little training he still manages to keep the pace honest past 30km. All up 35.82km in 2:41:51 (4:31's).

I then had 30 mins rest (and a bath) before heading out with the kids for their run. We ran Queenscliff to Shelley and back (5km) in 26:12 (5:15's). I was struggling to hang on to them in the final km.

Now farked.

State 5000m

Didnt know what to expect today. Only had 3 weeks of proper training but had been pretty pleased with the way things were going. Decided that anything sub 16:10 would be OK but with a stretch aim of going sub16. I was a nightmare to be with all day so have to thanks Kirst for her patience. Drove all the kids out to watch and form a great cheer squad.

Did about 5kms warm up with Macca while watching the earlier races and getting even more apprehensive. When the leaders in Race D go through the first km in 3:11 you get scared about what Race B is going to be like. Lined up on the outside and we were off in very good conditions - about 22C, slight drizzle and no wind. Everyone dawdled through the first 200m in 38s so I look the lead, much to my kids delight who went nuts on the sidelines. First km in about 3:09, after an injection of pace from someone at 800m which left me in 5th place. Don't know what 2km was in but someone seemed to be shouting lap times of about 75 or 76 each lap which sounded good. 3km was reached in 9:28 and at this stage I'm just staring at the back of the chap in front (Chamkaur), hoping for the laps to pass without the wheels falling off. A couple of others had gone past, Chamkaur slows a bit so I try to put a real effort in over the final 2 laps. Finish down the home straight with the legs going lactic which is always a good sign.

Chuffed to bits to get under 16 and run 15:52 at this stage of training. Macca also seemed to enjoy his first ever track race running a 16:51 but without the benefit of someone to draught behind. Watched most of the girls race (where Emily Brichacek was mightily impressive) cheering Laura on who ran a great 17:55.

Results here:

http://www.nswathletics.info/liveresults/2012/ANSW_5000m_12/

Chadi ran a superb 15:03 in the A race. Looks like CT must have blown up trying to stick to the big guns as he came in in 15:50 despite his training suggesting he was capable of something close to Chadi. It still gets him one up on the head to heads.

Easy Friday

MC controversially used the HuRTS Distribution list to advertise some pathetic frolic in the pool today, so it was a hardcore who turned out for the Friday easy run. Big Sam, Rob, Mat K, Luke, Simon, King James, Indrajeet and others. We went very easily oevr the bridge and around Cremorne Point. A very tanned looking Charlie D caught us coming off the bridge on the return and started gnashing his teeth at the mention of Timmy. Seems Young Tim may have pushed the teasing a little too far recently.

All up 13.53km in 1:09:27 (5:08's). Now just to kill myself on the track tomorrow night.

104km for the week. First 100+km week since mid-October. Even that one was a one-off. Last time I did them consistently was August.

HuRTs 4 x 2km

Big crowd on a beautiful day. Bit of a headwind on reps 1 and 3 which I shared with the front guys (Fast Charlie, Scotty O and Andy). Hell, even Timmy gave it a pop today. Although pop he went at the halfway mark on each rep. J-Fen was taking it easy and Tucks and Kanser were nowhere to be seen. Nice to Fats making a welcome return.

Reps went:

6:43
6:30
6:32
6:27

First one didn't feel any easier than the rest despite the time difference. I was struggling to hold on to Fast Charlie and Scotty O today, and Andy put in a really good effort on the final rep.

Reps were run off a rolling 9 minutes.

Just checked and it's a year (Jan 27 2011) since I last did this session. I must pussy out of Thursday sessions frequently. Back then I ran:

6:32
6:36
6:25
6:31

(2 seconds per rep quicker) so not too bad.

Christ, forgot to mention that partner in crime Durante fronted up today for the first proper session in, probably 3 years. He may have been struggling to keep up with MC but it didn't stop him having a pop about my slappy feet...

Health check and easy run

Had my annual health check today. Weight 68.3kg (up 1.7kg from last year and 4kg from 2007 and 2008!). I'm hoping it's all muscle. Resting heart rate 42. BMI 20.6. Blood pressure 118/60. Good cholesterol of 1.7 and bad of 2.6 (good result says the doc). Adjusted age of 27 which sounds nice. Having said that, at 27 I was about 78kg, binge drinking every night and eating 4 doughnuts a day.

Ran home feeling very energy depleted as I'd had to fast most of the morning and hadn't eaten enough afterwards. 57:48 despite a cool following wind seemingly the whole way.

I've entered the State 5000m. The family are making a rare outing to come and watch. This normally guarantees me a bad run.

HuRTS Tempo

Told MC the Progressive Tempo should be replaced with a straight tempo which he agreed to so today was the first chance to test it. 45 mins turning at 22.5mins. Marathon pace (or "15s per km slower than 10km pace" as MC put it, which sounds faster than marathon pace to me). Set off in the front group of Fast Charlie, J-Fen, Kanser, Scott O'C and, wait for it, Big Mikey H. We all stuck together until the turn when Big Mikey H carried straight on. Paul Macca and Andy were on their own behind the front group so we concentrated on catching them which happened around Circular Quay. Fast Charlie pulled ahead around the back of the Open Air Cinema and J-Fen went past me just before Mrs Mac's Chair as I started to tire. Felt pretty good on the hills on the way back though and finished about 5 seconds behind FC and J-Fen, just in front of Scott and Kanser.

Nice to be back in the mix again and it's a good session. Because it's a straight tempo people seem to judge their pace better so we finished more "en masse" than on other sessions. My Garmin measured it 12.2km and, finishing in 44:35, gives an average pace of 3:39's. GMaps measures it at 12.14km which gives an average of 3:40's, so close enough.

Poor Timmy finished up a little bit delirious and could barely string a sentence together. We left him dazed and confused standing in the middle of Art Gallery Road so I hope the old fella's OK.

I've decided that the best way to get fit is to race myself fit so I'm considering doing the State 5000m on Saturday night. Just got to get permission from Mrs H. It'll be a bit ugly but I criticise others for not putting themselves out there when not on top form so I should practice what I preach.

Booked accommodation for the Six Foot Track. Managed to get a property which is situated on the track itself so I should get a big cheer from the family running through Megalong Valley. Check it out here.

Back to work

Heavy Lasagne at a work lunch so ran it off on the way home. Felt rough until the end of the Harbour Bridge then got into a stride and enjoyed the rest of the run. Worked the hills. Achilles feeling very good. 29:53 at Toyota Garage and 56:00 all up.

Recovery run

4.5km run with Bec & Billy to Nippers (does it count if done at 5.30 pace?) then 11km in the afternoon with Billy & Charlie on their bikes (not much quicker at 4.45 pace). Knackered today.

Bush Run Part 3

Out at 6.30am with Dickyboy and Justin. Route was similar to Tuesday but with more bush running, both in Manly Dam and Red Hill. I was knackered today, feeling the effects of yesterday. Struggled through the first few km. Felt OK'ish from about 7km to 20km then really struggled home with the last 4km being run from one bubbler to the next in the warm conditions. All up 28.4km in 2:17:48 (4:51's).

More tempo

16.56km tempo in 61:55 (3:44's). Through 10k in 37:18 and 16km in 59:45. Felt comfortable at times and a struggle at others. Much cooler than yesterday and quite blustery - was tough running down Manly beach into the Southerly but a breeze on the return. Achilles feeling better and better so I'm feeling more confident about things.

93km for week

Nadgerooed

Caught the bus with the family to Spit Bridge then walked back home on the Spit to Manly. Took 5 hours including breaks, I had Claude in a backpack the whole way. Achilles was a bit sore after from all the climbing with 15kg on my back. Frustrating as it's been feeling great recently - maybe because I'm not sat in a chair all day long.

Knackered afterwards but jumped in the pool then ran an easy 10km in 42:18.

Received an email from Richie High today from Cambodia. He's set up a blog detailing his adventures with the family over the next 3 months which is here.

Recovery run

Kirst was out with the girls, I needed to do a recovery run so took Billy and Charlie out on their bikes for as long as Charlie could survive. It was 31C and humid today so nothing quick was going to be on the cards in any case. Ran the usual 7km route to Shelley Beach which we reached in 33:30. Charlie seemed happy to continue on so we retraced our steps. All up 14.4km (I had to double back a few times to deal with mechanical issues and ended with a loop of the playpark) in 1:08:04 (4:44's). Perfect recovery run and very proud of Charlie. He only learned to ride a bike in September and now he's doing 14km in just over an hour.

Bush run Part 2

Met Dickyboy at 6.30am for another bush run. He gave me 3 fairly unattractive options, so I plumped for the one where the bush was closest to home just in case I got bitten by a snake or just collapsed with exhaustion. That was Manly Dam, Red Hill and out at Cromer and returning home via Dee Why. We seemed to keep the pace pretty honest in the bush and then were running 4:10's and below back on the road. As a result, I as pretty shattered by the end. But it's another under the belt. All up 27km in 2:05:28 (4:38's).

Character building

Kirst gave me 45mins at 1.30pm. It was hot and windy, but I wanted to add a bit of quality. After 200m of a 12km tempo, I was ready to ditch the quality. But stuck at it, telling myself I'd would be rewarded at some point. Ended up doing the 11.8km in 44:25 (3:46's). Every km between 3:45 and 3:50 with a couple of quicker ones towards the end when I finally felt as though I was using my glutes and not just quickly shuffling.

New Year's Day

Normal 14km route with Billy and Bec on their bikes. Reached the turn in 29:12 but felt great on the return so picked the pace up a bit. All up 56:27 (4:02's). Massive crowds in Manly, particularly on the path to Shelley, so there was a bit of tourist dodging. Bec took one out herself and had a stack.