HuRTS Pyramid

Strength with Carl this morning but only a little bit on the legs as mostly core an upper body so felt OK for this session.

And a funny session it is. There aren't many occasions I've done it at max effort for one reason or another. It's quite intimidating, especially on the 3 and 4 lappers, to commit early on. Anyway, all I had to do was follow Barts who continues on in sparkling form, with J-Fen not far behind and Ray and others dropping in and out occasionally. Reps went:

80, 2:40, 4:00, 5:29, 4:10, 2:37, 74

That's as good as the best I've done. Disappointed with the 4:10 when Barts took a big lead on the first lap taking it out quickly, but otherwise pretty happy considering the lack of speedwork I've done recently.

Some photos from Saturday:

Tucks and I (and random ranga):

Dicky H, J-Fen and Richie P:

Macca and Hamish M:

Enda:

The Tiger and Justin B in the background:

MC in blue:

Laura:

Young Timmy - he could take a lesson in form from Laura:

Short Wed

Busy day. Massage with Theresia late arvo followed by very easy 8km jog.

Dreamer!

Bec had her school XC today. Last year she won it easily (they're all geeks at her school) after having done 3-4 months regular training with me and Billy. She kept on telling us how she was going to win today (despite having done nothing but sit on her arse for the past 3 months) to which Kirst and I would respond by singing the following Supertramp song to her:

Supertramp: Dreamer


Well, I was in the changing rooms after my run at lunch and received a call on my mobile with Bec singing it back to me. So well done girl. She wins her "mother and daughter treat trip to Max Brenner". Talk about incentivising in inappropriate ways.

Today did 45mins tempo. Ran with Andy the whole way with Barts, Vlad and Fats ahead by about 60m at the turn. Fats came flying by us under the bridge and was on fire today. Edged ahead of Andy climbing the hills at the end and tried to catch Fats but didn't quite manage it. Still, 12.65km in 44:54 (3:32 average) was good considering that's 80km in 4 days. Felt heavy all the way but breathing was fine, but strong on the hills at the end which was good. 10:11 for the final gate to gate. Barts continues to go from strength to strength - elongating the session to a 60min tempo and still averaged 3:27's.

Different Monday

Shock! We ran an alternative Monday route, continuing on around Pyrmont Wharves but finishing straight up from CQ. 16.5km very easy with Barts, MC, Ray, Slapstick, Laura and others dropping off along the way.

Dad's booked his hotel room for Berlin so I will have a cheer squad!

Getting longer Sunday

Out with Macca at 5.45am for 33km on our usual Northern Beaches route but avoiding the section to the Narrabeen track. I did an extra loop of the golf course at the end (saying hello to a very speedy Gus McGillavry powering up Kenneth Road).

2:31:45 (4:35's). Felt ok today despite yesterday's race. Nice to have no specific aches or pains (touch wood).

Bec, warming up for Brookvale FC game. Hopefully she can avoid 2 weekends in a row of all my kids being smashed at soccer.

Sydney10: 23rd in 33:02

Well, in the end it was pretty much exactly what I expected. Kanser would accuse me of falling prey to the central governor.

Turned up pretty early after a good week of sleep and off the booze. Did about 3km warm up then some sprints and was feeling pretty good on the start line, albeit very nervous. Had a good few chats with all the crowd and it was a huge HuRTS turnout. Biggest disappointment was the absence of Andy who texted last night to say he'd fallen victim to the stomach bug he'd been trying to avoid all week. Just the worst luck as he was flying in training. I was in this position last year so know how he feels.

Gun went and it was the usual mad, slightly downhill, sprint. Conditions were perfect (cool and still) so knew it was going to be quick. I'd decided not to wear a watch though as I'd knew there would always be plenty of people to chase so no need to chase the clock. By 1km I'd settled in behind Barts with Tucks just behind. There were plenty of others around though, with CT and Nick Bellemore just ahead and some ranga chap I didn't recognise. Plan before the race was to stick to Barts for as long as possible, knowing the 3km to 5km section (slightly uphill) would be the biggest test. Sure enough, after the hairpin at 3.2km he starts to chase a few guys up ahead and I couldn't respond. At this point Tucks came past so I latched on to him instead. Stayed this way until the hairpin at 5km which we reached in 16:22. Renaud took this photo shortly after:



I fell off a bit here, then rallied at 6km and told myself to keep the effort up. Went past the group you can see above just after 7km with only Tucks coming with me. At this stage, Barts was about 50m up the road but was stranded so I thought we may have a chance of catching him if he started to fade. But at the hairpin at 8.2km Tucks started piling the pressure on and was inching ahead. I was just holding on at this stage, aware of some footsteps behind starting to catch. Tried to rally at the end, especially coming into the final straight when I saw the clock and desperately tried to get under 33, but it wasn't to be. Another photo from Renaud in the final straight:



Bit disappointed immediately after in not dipping under 33 and being 27s behind Barts, CT and Robbie, but in retrospect I think they all had great runs (when you see how close to Liam Ridings, Mark Warren et al they got) and I still managed to beat some very good runners in Hamish M, Kevin Robertson, Sam Walker etc. Timmy will no doubt take the piss for finishing just behind Tucks YET again but in truth I think he brings the best out of me in races and I'd have been slower if he hadn't been there.

Some great runs out there - Barts (a 1s PB with 32:35), Anna (big PB in 37:05 and taking Laura's scalp in the process), Richie P in a great PB despite being well the wrong side of 40 with a 34:24 but run of the day for me was Mr Ace running 36:00. Also dead chuffed to see my Sunday run buddy Macca defy all the doubters and prove once again that racing is very different to training in running 35:13. He'll be on a steep upward curve from here.

Nice warmdown after with a bubbly MC, J-Fen, Mr Ace and others. The estimated times were pretty accurate - actual results next to the predicted times in yesterday's post. A bit controversial, but I reckon this course is longer than in previous years. The 5km hairpin is closer down Olympic Boulevard, but the 3.2km hairpin was placed much further down the road - the difference being that you run the longer 3.2km hairpin twice but the shorter 5km hairpin only once. That said, I reckon it's an accurate 10km now - despite everyone's Garmin readings.

Taper time

Very easy 6km jog with MC, BW and Chris Shaw. All the talk was on tomorrow's race. It's the biggest 10km of the year and, after City to Surf and JPMorgan, one of the biggest on the HuRTS calendar. We should have a very large turnout. As a result, I thought I'd post my random selection of predicted times:

CT: 32:35 (Actual 32:33)
Robdog: 32:40 (Actual 32:37)
Barts: 32:45 (Actual 32:35)
Tucks: 32:55 (Actual 32:59)
Andy: 33:15 (Absent)
Fats: 33:23 (Actual 33:43)
Jonny B: 33:30 (Actual 34:21)
J-Fen: 33:45 (Actual 34:05)
T-Bell: 33:47 (Absent)
Kenny: 33:59 (Actual 34:49)
Ray: 34:20 (Actual 35:27)
Enda: 34:23 (Actual 35:09)
Dicky H: 34:25 (Actual 34:41)
Tiger: 35:05 (Actual 35:32)
Macca: 35:40 (Actual 35:13)
MC: 35:45 (Actual 35:50)
Laura: 36:20 (Actual 37:27)
Timmy: 36:49 (Actual 37:44)
Anna: 37:20 (Actual 37:06)
Aidan: 37:20 (Actual 37:31)
Kilted Scot: 38:20 (Absent)
Elle: 39:32 (Actual 39:47 very impressive!)

Some fast times there but I think the boys (and girls) are running well.

Harry Summers will win the race in 29:10 (Yep, 1st, Actual 29:36) and Celia Sullohern will be first female in 34:40 (Actual 35:13 but only 2nd).

Crocodile man

Easy 9km today with 8 100m sprints thrown in. Felt good in my new Musha 5's. MC, John Doe, Slapstick, Mr Ace, LF Charlie, Laura, Mermaid and Elle the Belle were all along for the ride.

Had to include a picture of Khotso Mokoena jumping over crocodiles. I love these man versus nature/machine media opportunities (like Bolt races a horse or Guzzo beating a car to the City from Epping):

Vitamin B12

Strength with Carl this morning. Massage with the Tiger this arvo. Followed by 11km around Pyrmont very easy. Going hard on the vitamins, protein powder, Juice Plus, you name it. These are the final acts of a desperate man.

Super proud of Kirst who ran a 7km time trial in 35:12 this morning (finishing up the monster hill that is Condamine St). Her running coach plainly knows a lot more about running than I do.

HuRTS 3min reps

Good crowd out today for the first HuRTS session I've done in a while. Wanted to push it a bit to see how I was feeling and the answer was clear. Not so good.

Vlad and Barts were way ahead. I was puffing running 3:20's (although they may have quickened a bit later on) with the legs just not used to turning over at that pace at the moment. Managed 12 reps. I think I'll take it very easy for the rest of the week for the chance of feeling fresh on Saturday. Andy and Fats continue to run well, J-Fen is coming back into form and big news of the day is that Tucks is back in town and running on Saturday too. So Timmy has me down as odds-on HuRTS no.6 at this stage. At least it trumps his current HuRTS no.74.

Apart from that it was business as usual. Fats let us know what he had for breakfast via a combined fist pump and bottom pump. Ray didn't stop talking. Macca was breathing hard. Everybody gave their words of wisdom to Laura.

Nice to see TB back in town. Hope he's running on Sat too.

Longish Monday

Having missed the long weekend run I tried to squeeze one in today but work got the better of me. Only managed 23km in 1:40 (4:20's). Still feeling average after Saturday night.

Fantastic run by Benny to win the Payton Jordan Invitational 10km in Stanford this afternoon in 27:37 thereby booking his ticket to the World Champs in Moscow. Few peak better for the races that matter than Ben. That's a super time for someone beaten to 3rd in a domestic 10km road race in Tassie only a few weeks ago.

Scaramanga!

Well, last night turned into a very large one at Jon and Jane's for the former's 50th birthday. I've been in bed all day long. Kirst said I had a licence to kill with my breath this morning. Should i have run today? The answer would have been clear had I asked a doctor. No.

I may have died last night and you only live twice so out I went in the late afternoon. A quantum of solace was that it was perfect weather again - managed 8km before deciding I'll die another day.

For your eyes only:

Striders 10km handicap

I was the back-marker for this along with Thamal. At least with Thamal there I'd have someone to chase as we were 1:30 behind the next runner (Tongey). Timmy was a bit in front going off 37:30 with Anna and Anna on 38:00 and quite a few more dotted around.

I felt pretty confident going into this having been feeling really good in training this last week and confident of a 33:xx but that all went out of the window after 300m. My legs were just dead and I was blowing like a steam train. Tried to hold on to Thamal but as soon as we climbed up Scribbly he pulled ahead. We did the first 2km in 3:12 and 3:18. Coming down Scribbly I caught him again and this turned into a common theme - he'd pull ahead on the flats and uphills and I'd catch him on the downhills. 5km in 17:08 and my legs still felt terrible, it's the worst I've felt in a race for ages.

We passed Timmy at 6km then on the hill before 7km Thamal pulled ahead with a 5s gap. Timmy said that from behind it looked as though I just sat up. By now we were catching a load of other runners and by the final km it became very busy. Over the final 2km I could see Thamal was slowing and I finally started to feel vaguely OK. Dodged through the crowds in the final 500m to get within a couple of seconds of Thamal and finish in 34:07. At least it was a negative split (16:59).

I'm guessing I felt so crap because of the flight 24hours earlier but I'll need to improve a lot over the next 7 days to run well at State 10km.

Home sweet home

Flight overnight arriving 5.45am. Straight to office and out at lunch feeling very sleepy with Ray and Aidan. 15km nice and easy on a beautiful day in 65 something (4:26's).

Durante's organising a team for City Mile Dash - me, him, Wildman and Barts. I'm nervous just thinking about it.

91km for the week.

Singers Part 2

Manic day. Didn't end up attending any of the conference as I just dealt with deals all day. Out in the late arvo finding a beautiful, flat and traffic free path around the marina and along the river - largely following the Singapore JPM race. Bloody hot and humid again. 12km in 51:32 (4:18's).

Now for some Tiger Beers.

View from hotel window:

In Singapore

With a lovely view of the Marina Bay Sands. Ahh, fond memories.

Bloody busy so just squeezed in 10km on the hotel gym treadmill in 38:54. Hate those damn things. Sweated like a pig.

Holiday summary

Wednesday was 14km of mostly beach running including 4km barefoot. As a result my knee was buggered (usual problem of the tendon below the kneecap) and I hobbled around on Thursday unable to put any weight on it. Love the idea of barefoot running but my body just can't cope.

Loaded up on Voltaren and hammered my thighs on the hard ribbed foam roller so that I could manage 10km very easy on Friday. Saturday was 15km with a fast final 5km feeling good. Sunday was an easy 10km to Yagon and back.

Watched the London Marathon last night and loved it. I've heard some comments about how the times failed to live up to expectations given the quality of the field but I think that misses the point. It was the equivalent of an Olympic final and so we saw a proper race. Nothing quite like seeing quality runners falling apart and looking like the rest of us in the final 2km of a major race.

Off to Singapore tomorrow so needed to get a quality session in today so decided to push the pace a bit on my long run. Did 16.5km to Shelley Beach and back adding a loop of Manly Golf Course then ran to work. 29.7km in 2:00:34 (4:03's). 54:44 for the run to work bit but that included an extra loop around Anderson Park in Kiribilli in order make up some distance. Very happy with that. Running sub4's finally felt relatively comfortable so a big confidence booster.

Update

Sat was 5km very easy.

Sunday was 10km tempo in 37:19 on the Yagon route plus 2km warmdown.

Monday was 30km all the way down Yagon beach (middle of nowhere) and back. Got scared shitless after 7km running down the beach only to hear footsteps behind me. Turned around to see 3 dingoes pursuing me. If they'd approached at 27km I'd have been toast, but was still relatively fresh after 7km. Running back up the beech after turning I could see from the tracks they'd followed me for about 4km. Soft sand for 20km so legs were knackered at the end even only managing 4:56's.

Rest today. At Taree Hospital now after Claudia was bitten on the foot but an in identified Australian critter.

Jared West

Massively busy day trying to wrap things up before going on holiday. Going on holiday is almost not worth the stress.

Nice run at lunch with Chris Shaw form AMP. 15km easy. That's 131km for the week. Really good 4 weeks of raining, gradually increasing the mileage each week. I'll ease up next week on holidays and hopefully see some jump start in the fitness. Not sure where anonymous from yesterday's post is coming from. Check out what I used to do in training in 2008.

Very impressed with Jared West's result in the 800m prelims at the Aussie Champs. A PB of 1:47:99 to make the final. I've only met the chap once (after City Mile Dash last year where we shared a couple of beers) and he was dead humble. He trains around Manly and always says hello. Wish him every luck in the final tomorrow and hope he can podium. Jeff Riseley will be the man to beat.

Can't cope

Had a work call at lunch I couldn't avoid so the 800's were out. Contemplated doing them solo but, to be honest, I'm knackered and I'd be flogging a dead horse. So just did a very easy 12km up to Centennial bumping into Barts and Andy, the men in form, on the way.

More beers tonight. Will the form ever return?!