Allens Linklaters

My new firm name. Just an easy run home tonight in 57:11 (Toyota Garage in 30:17). A couple of great runs in the London Marathon yesterday. First up Big Sam showed his strength in running 2:46:59. I'd predicted a 2:44 and he was on that pace at halfway (low 1:22) but apparently got the old cramps resurfacing between 30 and 40km so had to ease the pace to keep them at bay. Sounds like it's just a question of sorting out his nutrition. He was able to throw caution to the wind in the final 2km and his pace showed it - increasing by 12s per km for this section. BeerMatt had a great run in doing a 2:30:55. Looks like he went out exactly on his target pace running low 1:14 at half way. A very high quality time although I suspect he's a bit disappointed not going sub 2:30. If I could go through my first half in the time he does his second half I'd be happy.

Sunday meander

Was supposed to be a big weekend of running but hasn't quite turned out that way. Couldn't get out yesterday as I spent too long checking out the camper trailers at the Rosehill Gardens camping and RV supershow.

Today was a very easy 30km in 2:20 with Dickyboy and Tim Peel. The quickest my heart rate got was running into a huge golden orb spider in the 2nd km and squealing like a girl. Saw Pete W and had a chat towards the end but that was about it. Feeling very guilty now.

Good luck to Big Sam and beermatt at 4pm this arvo. I'll be tracking their progress online.

Run in

Big meeting at lunch with a vote to shock the legal world so I ran in. Was knackered and managed a new PW of 62:34. Was sweating heavily and panting up the hills. Not helped by having to carry a heavy rucksack. In fact, it slowed me down so much that got me thinking how much Kenenisa Bekele would have to carry on his back before I could beat him over 10km. I settled on 27kg.

108km for the week.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Rocked up late and, with only two other stragglers there, we realised everyone must have started already. So set off solo. Reached the end just as everyone was starting their second rep so I gave myself 30 seconds rest then chased them. Caught the tail-enders but then ony had about 1:20 until the third rep started, this time running with the front guys. Strangely the 4th rep was the hardest - probably because the body wasn't used to a full 2min recover. Started lethargically and had to work hard to get into it. Then felt full of running on the final rep.

Times went:

3:42
3:45
3:34
3:36
3:34

Always the toughest of sessions as it's a real lungbuster. J-Fen was running very well. Others upfront were Scotty, Daniel M, Darian (who I gapped - get it?!), Spike and Smolly (for one rep). But talk of the HuRTS is the growth of the elite women numbers. Lucy Starrat looked like a class act joining in today in her return from injury and had a chat with Adele from NAB afterwards who is looking to run sub40 for 10km. Along with Laura, Anna and Kristen Sukkar, we have the makings of a pretty elite squad.

Wednesday MLR

Usual route. Just me, the Kilted Scot, JW and the pissing rain. The boys only did one loop of the park so I was left to run solo in the second half. Came back looking and feeling as though I'd jumped into the harbour. 1:27:16. Slow, but we ran the wide route around Centennial on the concrete path the whole way.

Getting interested in the Sydney10 and while running solo was wondering what time I'd be happy with. Tried to work out my best 10kms and it goes like this:

1. North Head Sep 2011: 32:24
2. State 10km May 2008: 32:37
3. State 10km June 2011: 32:41
4. North Head June 2008: 33:00
5. Gold Coast July 2007: 33:01
6. North Head Sep 2007: 33:08
7. Lane Cove Nov 2007: 33:16
8. Lane Cove April 2008: 33:17
9. Gold Coast July 2010: 33:21
10. North Head March 2009: 33:23

Given both State 10km races I've done have been sub33 that's got to be the aim.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

The cold wet weather has hit Sydney and scared off the fair-weather runners today, with only a hardcore of about 20 showing up. As it was the hardcore, the attrition rate for this tough session was much lower than usual, but the usual culprits still cut short. Our Irish friends chief amongst them.

At the front it was Scotty, J-Fen, Ray, Cut Short Kanser, recent recruit Daniel Mellish, Tucks (taking it easy with Mt Solitary on this weekend) and myself. I felt pretty good today. Don't want to kill these sessions yet but gradually upped the pace to cover the gate to gates in the 3 mins (3:18's) feeling OK. Everyone pushed the last one where I did the gate to gate in 2:43 (2:59 pace). Solid session and another in the bag. Just looking for consistency at the moment.

Great to see Dicky High back out again cruising around Farm Cove before picking up Bartles (that sounds wrong, but he does have form). The latter has a calf issue so is taking it easy.

Went straight out for a massage afterwards with Amanda at JSM and the good news is that my calves are pretty good but my glutes were tight. Probably explains why the achilles has been so good recently.

Monday home

Caught up with Dickyboy again for the run home. Once again, it was less than comfortable as he seemed intent on running a PB while I struggled to hold on and listen to his conversation. 29:00 at the Toyota Garage and 54:22 all up.

The SMH Half has just got more interesting with the development of the England v Ireland showdown (unlimited counters, first 5 home on overall time). Some underhand tactics on the part of Kanser in trying to claim that Robbie Neal is a HuRT Squad member despite having only ever turned up at a couple of sessions 4 years ago. To be fair to him, Robbie did text me a couple of weeks ago asking about the Thursday session and, without him, we could have all 5 Englishmen home before the first Irishman crawls over the line. So I thought it was OK. Lieutenant Timmy was less accommodating. Obviously an Englishman of the old school, looking to dominate his opposition. I think Timmy should be concentrating on getting in the top 5. With Jonny B, Andy H, Big Sam, Dickyboy and Fats in the mix, it won't be easy.

Back home

7.5km leg stretcher around Manly following drive home and mammoth unpack.

Yagon no more

29km to end of Yagon Beach and back. Picture perfect day and the tide was out so ran on hard sand. All good. Only issue was negotiating the monster hangover. 2:10:20.

Easy peasy

10km to Yagon and back. Bloody sick of that route. Only once more.. 45mins today.

Maggsy at Sunset at Seal Rocks.

102km for the week.

Thursday tempo

Same as Tuesday. 35:27 today though, really working hard on the hills. Perfect conditions. Camping is good again. Forgot to mention that Mrs H bumped into Mrs Tucks in Forster Mall yesterday. Small world.

Mid week mumbling

15km in 64:10 (4:16's) feeling fine. I reckon this running thing is a piece of piss if you just sit on your ass for the rest of the day.

It's rained pretty solidly for the past 48hours and the temps have dropped to about 15C so I'm pretty much over it. Almost came home early but the forecast is better. The good news is I discovered some showers at the posh end of the campsite that actually serve up hot water. So I took my first in a week.

Times at Lane Cove looked there for the taking and was surprised not to see Jonny B up there until I read his blog. Tough news as he looked as though he was flying in training (perhaps I should start listening to the Tiger and not just placing bets with him). His injury sounds similar to mine at Sydney Half.

Tempo time

Did a short warm up along No.1 Beach then 10km tempo to Yagon and back. Tough with the constant rolling hills and blustery conditions. No snakes or dingoes today though, I think they prefer it sunny. 35:48 for the 10km followed by a warm down for 13km all up.

Settling in

I could get used to this camping malarkey. Sit around all day then start drinking at 4pm, in bed by 9pm.

Yesterday was 29km to the end of Yagon beach and back - 5km of fire trail then 19km of soft sand followed by 5km trail. Struggled to run 5min kms on the soft sand - when I got back on the trail again I was running 4:10's for the same effort. Glutes got a great work out though. 2:17 or thereabouts.

Today was 10km in the twilight on the trail to Yagon and back. Convinced I could hear dingoes tracking me in the words so ran most of it quite quick carrying a large stick.

Snakes alive

Almost stood on one. He snarled at me. Looked bloody dangerous too, short but fat and with big fangs. On my way back some goons were poking a stick at it.

56mins. Felt crap to start with but ace at the end.

Toppity

Beautiful morning - cool, clear and still and just enough time to squeeze a quick run in before setting off to Seal Rocks. Did the Manly 7.5km route. Stomach still a bit dodgy but felt a bit of energy returned today. Pushed the Manly mile hard to add just a bit of quality. Did that in 5:08 feeling lightheaded at the end. Finished in 30:45.

92km for the week.

What the feck

Tried to run to work as a tempo. Stomach started feeling dodgy again at 2km. Could barely run 4:10's without feeling massively lethargic so pulled the pin and caught a taxi. Claudia is sick and I think I must have some low level bug. Holiday tomorrow so plenty of chance to recuperate.

Kipchoge and Dibaba

Two of my favourite distance runners.

Kipchoge (Eliud) because he has stood the test of time. He rose to fame in the greatest showdown in any Olympic 5000m final where Bekele was facing El Guerrouj. Kipchoge was barely mentioned amid the fanfare of the duel between the 1500m and 10,000m Gold medallists, despite being the reigning World Champion at the distance at the time (aged 18!). He came very close to upsetting them both. Unlike a lot of Kenyans though, whose star shines brightly but briefly, he's withstood the test of time and went on to win silver in the World Champs in 2007 and silver again at the Beijing Olympics.

Dibaba at her best is just a class above all the opposition, has a devastating kick and a great ass.

Both are coming back into form and ran the Carlsbad 5000m at the weekend, Kipchoge coming third and Dibaba winning. Looks like they are timing their run into the Olympics well again.

Today was the usual Wednesday route with Big Sam, JW, Marty, Mr Ace and another new chap. Felt knackered to start with, really struggled up Ocean Street, felt marginally better around Centennial but had the gut issue again. Pleased to crawl back home. It was pretty warm out there and others felt similar. I know I'm tired though as the stride length was very short with increased cadence. I was taking 2 strides for every one of Big Sam's bounds. All up about 1:24 so it wasn't too slow.

HuRTS 45min tempo

Big crowd which I had to corral again with MC still absent but a bith thinner upfront. I'd planned on not pushing early on and J-Fen had the same idea so we ran together. Tucks ran with us wondering why noone was pushing the pace before he drifted off around Circular Quay. We were doing about 3:40-3:42's going out and I don't think I could have gone any faster. Breathing was fine but the legs were just dead. Then when we turned at 22.5mins (6.1km) I kicked into action a bit and J-Fen and I ran back together at a better pace finishing in 44:29. I almost pulled the pin at CQ on the return with a dodgy gut. Safe to say there was no risk of me not holding my core while running up the hills at the end.

All up 12.2km at an average of 3:38's. Very warm again today but I'm generally just tired. The holidays can't come soon enough.

Good to see Timmy and Enda back and the Fairlight crew going strong.

Shock! Company to run home with!

Caught up with Dickyboy to run home with someone for the first time in 9 years of running back to the Northern Beaches. Added about 20s at the start of the run meeting Dicky at Customs House and then set off on the usual route. The pace picked up all the way, probably going a bit quicker than I should have - 30:40 at the Toyota Garage and 56:25 all up. Felt pretty good though. Won't kill myself tomorrow trying to freshen up a bit.

There's truth in the old sayings

I've been rolling through the 32km Sunday runs quite easily recently. But they say that 32km is only the half way mark in a marathon and anything over 32km is a struggle. That was proved this morning. Caught up with Sam at 6am and we did the 36km Narrabeen circuit, without gels again (taking a leaf out of Fats' book).

The first 20km felt great - a beautiful cool morning, chatting away. Sam pushed on a bit after the water stop at Narrabeen SLSC as usual but still felt fine until Cromer golf course. From then the pace got consciously quicker trying to run Sub4 min kms. Felt OK until Dee Why but then the Griffin Street hill punished me a bit and I just tried to drag myself home from there. By now it was 8am (9am in real money due to the clocks going back) and pretty warm in the high 20's. All up 35.8km in 2:31:24 (4:13's).

Sam's looking good for the London Marathon. Every time I'd thought I'd finally broken him he'd pop up in front again pushing the pace. I'm predicting a 2:44.

Finally, congrats to the Tiger last night in running 1:59:08 (still not quite good enough to save himself from owing me $200) and Macca running a great PB of 33:31 in the 10,000m knocking 30 odd seconds off his old mark.

Monstered

Haven't felt this weary in 2 years. Legs just dead today. Crawled around 13.1km with Timmy, Tucks, Kanser and new chap Joel in an hour, wishing at every moment that the run was over. Yesterday really took it out of me. Good news though is that the body feels better than ever, no aches or pains to speak of.

124km for the week including 3 big sessions so canny pleased with that like. Would be 138km if I counted junk miles with the kids.

The Mongrel

First up, took Bec and Billy out this morning for their usual Thursday speed session. I told them it was "hot laps" (3 x 500m) but secretly intended to add a 4th after they thought they had finished. Well, they weren't too pleased. Both started crying. Billy downright refused to do anymore. I said, fine, you needn't do it if you want to be a quitter. I wasn't favourite (or exemplary) Dad at this point, but what the hell. Billy then proceeds to tear off in a fit of rage and does the 500m in 1:59, a new record. So there is some mongrel in him!

Having done 4km with the kids and quiet at work I did the Rushcutters pyramid session intending to take it easy but with Jason I and new foppish haired chap Darien pushing the pace (with me unable to resist) I ran 89, 2:54, 4:24, 5:50, 4:16, 2:42 and 81 for the laps (averaging around 3:08's).

Then turned up in my running kit for the third time in the day unannounced to the final biathlon in the Thursday nighttime series with the sole intention of beating Young Timmy. This is understandable given the amount of crap he gives out on my swimming. Well, suffice to say Timmy was beaten by a breastroker. See pic attached. Many enjoyable beers followed. I felt crap on the run but did 12:59 for the 4km then did my standard 6mins breastroke for the 300m for a 19:26 PB.

Wednesday MLR

Usual route with Mr Ace, King James, JW and Big Sam. Felt very weary in the legs to start with, suffering the after effects of yesterday. Nice easy pace though and body had adjusted by the end. 18.5km in 1:27:17 (4:42's).

Laid another bet with the Tiger this morning after massage. He's keen on a head to head so I foolishly agreed to give him a 7 minute headstart at SMH Half. This was after he persuaded me that he'd struggle to run sub 80mins. But with a PB in the 75's, I think I've been duped.

HuRTS 45min Fartlek

Huge crowd today and with MC on the physio table I tried to bark out some instructions but just gave up and set off. Hardly anyone ever completes this session in any case.

Tucks, Bartles, J-Fen, Macca and JB were all running upfront, and with a big gap until the next group, I decided to go with them rather than do my more recent Tuesday thing of taking it cautiously to start with. It was a very consistent session with all the km splits with 3secs either side of 3:30 per km. JB gapped us on the way out but ran with us coming back until we splintered a bit towards the end with J-Fen and Macca stopping at 10km. Was pleased to feel good coming back up the hills in the final 2km to just miss getting back in time - doing 45:06. 12.8km all up doing 3:30's on the way out and 3:31's on the way back. We were doing the floats in 4:00's so I'll leave you to do the maths to work out what the fast sections were run at.

Warm out there today so a good session. Did a 2km warm down with J-Fen and Andy for 15km all up.

Easy Monday

Out with the Monday crew including the MBL women's team (Aine, Laura and Emma), Springer, JB, Jason I, Tim C, Marty and loads more. 15.8km in 1:09:42 (4:24's). Legs very weary from the weekend to start with but felt much better by the end. Plenty of talk about the Melbourne IM and the amazing times being recorded. The conclusion we all reached was that the course was short. Those Victorians have form.

Beautiful Sydney day out there. Gotta love Autumn.

Sunday solo

Struggle running long alone but with most of the lads running the Sri Chinmoy half in Centennial today I was up at 5.30am to pound the streets alone. Just did the same route as last week to avoid having to think. Rolled through the kms fine in the end. Spotted a couple of familiar figures at around 22km and, sure enough, ran past the Hamburglar and Paul shortly afterwards. picked up the pace again towards the end doing the final 10km in just under 40mins. All up 31.3km in 2:12:42 (4:14's).

Saturday tempo in Manly

Just too busy at work on Thursday and Friday to get out. Not often it happens. Coincided with drinking lots too.

Today was one of those perfect days where everything just feels magic, probably aided by 2 days rest. 14.1km tempo with Billy on his bike in 49:52 (3:32's). Billy earned himself a pair of Skins this morning after I said I'd buy them for him if he could do the 5km from Queenscliff to Shelley and back in under 26mins. He managed 24:58 so fair play to him.

Wednesday MLR at pace

Missed the squad setting off by 10mins so tried to catch them up. Was running sub-4's from the bottom of Ocean St onwards until I eventually caught them (MC, Russell, Geoffrey), coming back down Ocean St at the 15km mark. Then took a much needed breather for the final 4km home. Copped some abuse from a hooligan in a car in Centennial but just tried to ignore it and not respond.

All up 1:18:05 which is 4:10's despite the easy final 4km. Buggered now. I need an easy day.

Interesting stat:

Countries With Olympic "A" Qualifiers In Men's 10,000 - Sub-27:45.00

Kenya - 33
Ethiopia - 5
USA - 4
JPN - 3
GBR - 2
ERI - 2
AUS - 1
MEX - 1
FRA - 1
ECU - 1
ITA - 1

And yet Kenya haven't won Olympic gold in the 10,000m since 1968. Also puts Benny St in lofty company (ex Kenya).

HuRTS 2 x 20mins

Good crowd but down on the usual numbers. Young Timmy missing again - he seems to have given up on HuRTS since his form dropped rapidly. No Kanser and no J-Fen. Good to see Emma back though and plenty up front with Tucks, Bartles, Fats and Macca. I was holding on to them on the way out pushing ahead of Macca and Fats towards the end. Bartles was way out in front with Tucks about 20m in front of me. The watches seemed all over the place but I think I averaged about 3:27's. I ran with Tucks on the way back - he pushed ahead coming around Farm Cove and on the first hill but caught him on the final hill with him clutching his side in pain. Looked like a twanged heart muscle to me. Must be going to the same Doctor as Timmy and MC. Speaking of twanging, Fats' hamstring seemed to do the same thing around the Park Hyatt. All I could think of was the Tigers' dry needles. Hope you're alright mate.

Got back in 20:03 but started further back from where I finished the first rep so I think I averaged 3:26's. Felt good until Farm Cove and then had to put some real effort in from there to get home.

Note another new Blog is on the scene from JB - we can no longer accuse him of sekrit training!

Same again Monday

Run home after a very nice client lunch at Felix (Prawn Cocktail, Steak Frites and Alaskan Bombe downed with a glass of NZ Pinot).

56:29 after 30:21 at Toyota Garage. I'm planning on buying a car from the oft mentioned Toyota Garage to replace our rust bucket. Felt surprisingly good today after the hearty lunch and yesterday's hefty run.

Sunday accelerating

Out with Macca at 5.30am with Big Sam on the sidelines nursing an Achilles issue. Very slow first km in the pitch black (5:40) before we started to get moving. We did the usual route up to Narrabeen caravan park but came back through Cromer and then stayed on Pittwater Road until returning via Campbell Pde and Manly Golf club with Macca keen to avoid the hills to protect his own Achilles. We'd been running 4:10's to 4:20's most of the way and I was feeling comfortable when, at 22km, Paul suddenly puts his foot down. The last 10km was run in 37:30. Not sure where that came from. I guess it combined a missed tempo session from yesterday with a long run. Paul looking as strong as ever.

All up 31.4km in 2:09:30 (4:07's).

Part 2

13km on the treadmill in 50:28.

65.9kg.

100km for the week.

Grand Hyatt Melbourne

12km on the treadmill in 44:40. BORED!

Wednesday MLR

Massage with the Tiger this morning then straight into the usual Wednesday 19km with MC, Todd, Mr Ace, Mark M and Shane. Very easy pace today which suited me as I was tired from yesterday and ruffled up from the massage. 1:26:26. Warm again. Stopped at many a bubbler in the second half.

We saw Lara T (the nemesis) running just in front of us in Centennial. Remarked that she could have been going to London this year with a bit of concentration on the Marathon - particularly when you consider that Jessica Trengrove has just provisionally qualified with a 2:31.

HuRTS 45mins tempo

Still feeling a bit weary so didn't want to push the pace early on today. Especially so given it was 27C. A resurgent Tucks, J-Fen, Bartles and Fats went straight to the front at a pace I wasn't keen on sticking to, so I ran with Andy for the first 3km. He then slowed a bit so I pushed on by myself.

Ran past Fats who looked as though he was dry hurling opposite the STC before reaching the first speed bump along Hickson Road at the turn on 22.5mins (6.2km - averaging 3:37's). Bartles and Tucks were some way in the distance with J-Fen a bit behind them. Started to feel pretty good on the way back and when I passed Fats again he started to run with me which kept the pace honest. Got into a good rythmn here and hit a couple of kms at 3:26 pace. Pushed my way back up the hills to finish in 44:34 (3:33 pace for the return). Nice session. I'm trying to do these Tuesday's without leaving myself absolutely rooted at the end. I'll push the VO2 sessions on Thursdays.

Tucks and J-Fen cut short with Bartles finishing the whole thing strongly in 45:06. Timmy and Kanser will be pleased to hear that MC looked rooted on what is his new favourite session - may have gone out a bit too quick in the heat. Another huge crowd but far fewer finished than started.

Couple of kms warmdown with J-Fen for 15km all up.

Downloaded a new app for the iPad - Skitch (it's free). Just what I've been looking for - dead easy functionality for drawing and writing on Maps and pictures...

Homeward Bound

Very easy run home. Couldn't even be arsed to push the hills. Legs weary from weekend. 57:29 after 30:07 at T Garage.

Not the Six Foot Track

So it was cancelled. Wasn't hugely disappointed, still had a weekend away and it'll probably mean I'll be able to run better in the State 10km on the track at the end of the month.

Tucked into a few beers on Friday night with Timmy, Kanser, Tucks and families and then we headed out at 7.30am on Saturday morning to run from Megalong Road to Caves Road. Dave decided to pack provisions for a 4 day hike into his backpack so he had about 12kg on his back. We reached the first stream after about 250m and all took our shoes and socks off to tip toe across - taking about 10 minutes to do so. Later on, we'd realise how pointless this was. Very gentle and enjoyable run down to Cox's where we saw the strength of the river and realised it was a fair call to cancel the race. At this point, Dave hands me the backpack with rocks in and tells me it's my turn to carry it - just before the hills start. Also caught up with Jonathan W here.

I struggled up to Mini-Mini about 10m behind Kanser, Tucks, Jonathan W and a resurgent Timmy who was powering ahead. I was struggling with the weight of the backpack and was sweating loads, worried about how I was going to fare later on. Those sharp hills are definitely the toughest, particularly towards the top after you cross the open field. Then we head down to Alum Creek, cross rivers bigger than Cox's normally is, help a young bloke stuck in his Landcruiser and head up to Pluvi. I felt better here having drunk most of the water in the backpack and ran/walked these hills behind Kanser with Timmy and Jonathan taking it more slowly further back. Meanwhile, Tucks was just taking photos.

Black Range went on forever as usual (and is much hillier than I remembered) but the temps were cool up here and we were trotting along pretty well, at least until we hit a soft mud patch the size of a football pitch. Finally we were at Deviation and keenly waited for our lift home. 3 hours later and after about another 10km of walking, we got it. Timmy had lost it. Dave was swearing. I was going doolally. Tucks just took more photos. Here are some...

Timmy on Black Range - check out the sky:



Timmy, Tom and Dave, top of Pluvi:



Tom and Timmy on top of the World:



Tucks and Timmy having a "Richie High" moment:

Manly steady

12.2km around Manly in about 51mins. Beautiful day for a change. Bumped into Macca and ran the final 2km with him. Heading up to Blue Mountains now.

89km for week.

HuRTS Hickson Road Reps

It started to become clear towards lunchtime that Colin was going to cancel Six Foot, so I chanced it and decided on doing the Hickson Rd reps hard, knowing I'll need some speedwork before State 10km later this month. Almost missed the start after being cut off by a huge flood at the bottom of the steps linking George St and Hickson Rd, but arrived just in time to hand Amjam the coveted HuRTS Six Foot singlet for Fats.

A bit windy on the odd numbered reps, I struggled to hold on to Bartles on the first. Always struggle with the pace on the first rep at Hickson Rd and today was no exception. They got easier after that, although the 4th was almost a disaster when my watch strap suddenly broke sending my Garmin 610 flying across the road. Happy enough in the end running them all holding on to Bartles other than the 2nd which he did in super quick time. I ran:

3:38
3:34
3:37
3:39 (watch breakage costing me about 5 secs)
3:38

Interesting to see Ray putting in some effort today. I emailed him after Tuesday talking about the original Hickson Rd session and pointed out the times we did. After running a 3:50 first rep, he obviously wanted to prove that age hadn't wearied him so ran the rest all 3:45 or quicker. MC also had a good session running them in 3:48's. Kanser and Timmy beware.

Great to see Benny picked for the Olympics. He has started blogging.

Wednesday MLR

Usual run with MC, Mr Ace, Jonathan W, King James, the Kilted Scot and a couple of others but just MC, Jonathan and I doing the whole thing. Ran in the new trail shoes and they hurt my feet a bit and made my calves stiff - I think mainly due to the very stiff sole. Very good over little rocks though. I'm in two minds as to whether to wear them on Sat.

Jonathan W was talking a good game. It's a head to head on Sat with the loser to buy beers. Fats has been prevaricating on the 15min headstart so I'll go with JW having the pleasure of buying my beers in Caves House.

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Massive crowd today, but marked by the rare attendance of each of the 4 original HuRT Squad members - Ray, Chris G, Tim C and myself. All doing Six Foot on Saturday morning other than Ray. Chris is injured, Tim ran 50km+ on Sunday morning so we'll see how we all fare.

I just planned to cruise the sessions today without hurting myself. I was running mid-pack with MC and Nick Marval but still found myself running 3:25's for all the reps, with a couple at 3:28 and a couple at 3:20. Weather was a lot cooler which I'm guessing speeded everyone up. No wonder we all run quicker over 10km in June - September. Most of the guys running Six Foot were taking it easy, running only a few intervals or just resting. Tucks doesn't look good for Saturday - gets his blood test results this arvo so good luck mate. Worst comes to worst he'll be able to make sure the beer is on ice and get some practice on the green baize before pairing with Timmy to take on Kanser and myself.

Got all the gear now for Saturday morning. First up is a pair of trail shoes I've bought - partly off Fats' recommendation and partly because they're Mizuno's which I love:



Even more exciting is the official HuRT Squad singlet for this year's race. They didn't change the lettering as requested but still looks good:

Fitting it in

Meeting at lunch today and client entertainment this evening so only managed to fit in an easy 7km late afternoon. Still weary.

Easy with the kids

Just an easy 12km late afternoon with Bec, Billy and Charlie on their bikes. Maggie was in tears when I said she couldn't come because she wasn't fast enough. I'm fuelling the passion for exercise beautifully.

Untimed but legs were still very weary after yesterday's race.

North Head 10km - 33:41

It's fair to say I was pretty psyched up for this race. Jogged down to Manly Wharf and met up with Macca and Big Sam and by the time we reached North Head we'd picked up Bartles and MC too. Did a bit of a warm up, plenty of chat on the start line with almost all the HuRT Squad in attendance (even a sick Kanser and a broken Timmy wearing strange socks) and we were off on the new course for the fastest first 200m known to man. Bartles went off with the leaders and I settled into a group with Scotty, JB (where did his sudden form come from?) and Bleasel. We then all worked together to pick up Bartles running with the Horne and from then our group of 6 ran together - just what I was hoping for. JB looked really strong - gapping us around 4km but running by himself I thought it was a brave move.

At the turn at 5km we were all back together (Macca too was just with us, running a stormer). Had a quick look behind to see J-Fen about 20m behind. I was starting to really struggle here but knew that I would and knew that the longer I could stick with the group - perhaps holding out until the loop at North Head - the better I'd go. If I was spat out, J-Fen and Macca would pick me up in no time. So I dug in, really hurting, with JB, the Horne and Scotty pushing the pace. They gapped us a bit so I just hung on to Bartles, Bleasel and another chap who'd fallen back from the front runners. Bartles would push ahead on the flats and I'd catch back up on the hills. Then at 8km JB suddenly looked as though he was blowing hard with Scotty and the Horne pushing on. Bartles and I went past him just before 9km and I started to feel OK heading back down to the Stone Arch. Turned that with Bartles on my heels and tried to push the slight rise over the final 500m, but he was still there. The Highnam cheer squad (kids, Kirst, Alec, Gill, nephew, niece and Dad) were screaming at me so it was down to the final 75m steep uphill. Bloody hell, what a finish. Glutes were screaming, cut Bartles off, stuck my arm out and managed to cross the line just in front of him. It wasn't pretty, it was probably illegal, but what the hell. That's racing.

It was a good race and we ran a good second half - getting closer to both Criniti and CT after the second lap but they'd obviously put in a very quick first 5km. MC had a good race to take out Timmy and get within 10s of Big Sam. Plainly the tempo sessions are paying off. Macca showed how to put it on the line in a race by finishing just behind J-Fen in the low 34's. Scotty showed that he's a class act by finishing just in front of the Horne. If that guy did some long runs he'd be very dangerous. Good to see Richie P, Eoin, Ray, Christian, Todd, Laura (3rd female) and Pete W. As I said, the HuRT Squad were out in force.

Now a game of Golf this arvo with Alec and Dad on his 70th and a taper for Six Foot. Happy days.

Post script:

Holy cow. Hadn't considered the possibility of Six Foot being cancelled until I saw this...

Scary freakin river

Easy stuff

Set off by myself for a very easy 10km in the pouring rain. Bumped into Marty and ran with him for a bit chatting about Six Foot, then bumped into Andy, Clyde, Louis and Mr Ace and ran with them for a bit. All up about 11km in 49mins. Nervous about tomorrow.

Managed to catch Gregson on Bigpond TV winning the 1500m in the Aussie champs in a tactically astute race. He's got class, always turns it on for the big occasion.

102km for the week.

Rushcutters Sprints

Had a client lunch on today so Tucks and I headed down to Rushcutters the long way to run some 200m sprints. Originally planned to do 10 of them around the oval - i.e. sprinting half then going straight into a jog for half. We marked out what we thought was half way but turned out to be longer so they were about 250m sprints followed by 200m jogs. After 4 of them I was starting to struggle so we (well, I) decided only to do 8.

Tucks timed them as follows:

41, 42, 41, 41, 40, 40, 39, 39.

He was dipping his toe in the water after recent struggles following the virus so ran the inside line, but by reps 7 and 8 I was struggling to stay with him on the outside line.

Much harder than I was expecting. It's not easy running fast. I would have struggled to run any more at that pace. Even though we were just slow jogging the 200m before starting the next rep we were still averaging 3:45 per/km all up. Feel fine now though.

Plenty of chat about Six Foot. Tucks reckons Fats will smash me by well over 20mins and that I'm being way too generous offering only 15mins.

10km all up.

Mr Average

Just a run home this evening. 56:32. Pissing with rain but I seemed to have a tailwind the whole way which made it pretty enjoyable. Decided not to attack the hills as the Tiger told me I had a fat ass during massage this afternoon. We finally agreed on a bet with me offering him $50 if he could get under 2 mins for 800m on Saturday.

Been getting a bit worried about Six Foot, particularly how tired I always feel along Black Range. Every time I've done it I'm always expecting a load of people to overtake me on that section, wondering how anyone could be running slower than I am. So checked some stats from last year which made for interesting reading (to me at least). I was:

1. 10th to Cox's;
2. 9th fastest in KOM;
3. 9th fastest from Pluvi to the end; and
4. 9th overall.

That all sounds like it makes perfect sense, but there's a lot of variation in how people run Six Foot. For example, last year's winner Andrew Lee was:

1. 1st to Cox's;
2. 2nd fastest in KOM;
3. 7th fastest from Pluvi to the end; and
4. 1st overall.

And Tucks was:

1. 12th to Cox's;
2. 4th fastest in KOM;
3. 2nd fastest from Pluvi to the end; and
4. 5th overall.

Which leads me to conclude that I'm Mr Average.

HuRTS 4 x 10mins

Today was brutal.

Hottest day of the summer (33C but we had no shade) and one of the toughest sessions we do. The usual front group of Bartles, J-Fen, Scotty, Tucks and Fats with Fast Charlie also around. Went through the first km in 3:17 and I was pretty much red-lining. Finished at the gates in exactly 10:00. On the second rep Scotty, J-Fen and Bartles pushed a bit harder to finish a few seconds in front while I ran 9:49, with me trying to save something for the third. However, I grabbed some water, jogged back for the start of the third rep and seriously contemplated uppnig stumps there and then. Decided to run it easy, then saw that everyone else was doing the same and somehow drifted to the front. I then felt pretty good on the hills but the pace was slower and we ended the 10mins at the lamppost before the Robbie Burns statue, this time just with Bartles, J-Fen and Scotty. Not sure what happened to Fats, but Fast Charlie stopped after 2 reps and Tucks did the same, remarking that he couldn't even summon the energy to run back to the office.

Not sure what happened to me after that, but I certainly couldn't summon the energy to run with the front 3 back on the final rep so just ran through it at 4:00 pace in 11:07. But even that was a struggle. I was wandering all over the place after I finished but was lucky enough to jump into the harbour with the rest of the squad to get the core temperature down. Feel like crap now, nauseous and light-headed.

Run home

Bloody tired due to lack of sleep over the past few days. Was pretty useless at work today. Had a lunch on so ran home which I prefer to do on Mondays in any case. Pushed the hills holding the core, wouldn't say I attacked them. Got the heart pumping though and otherwise felt pretty comfortable. It's great to be running pain free with no injury niggles at all at the moment.

29:25 at Toyota Garage and 55:35 all up.

Looking forward to Saturday's race on the new course. I reckon it's slightly slower due to the longer drag turning at the Stone Arch - done 3 times now. It'll be a tough finish coming up there in the final 500m. Big bro Alec and his family are coming for the weekend (it's Dad's 70th) and I'm trying persuade my sister-in-law to race. She's pretty handy and it'll be good to see two Highnams in the results.