Woeful Friday

7km dead slow feeling very average.

HuRTS 200's

The squad were doing 8x800m but didn't want to hurt myself before Sat so sat in the second group with TKS, Renee, Ellie, Lou and JC and did 200m fast on each rep and cruised the rest.

Long warmdown with Barts for 13km all up.

Now properly back at work.  Hrmphhh.

Wellness Wednesday

Same as last week with LF Charlie, MC, Élan and Worswick.  Nice and easy, lemon squeezy.

Recovery not HuRTS

Squeezed in 10km from work this arvo during a busy day.  A few strides thrown in.  One of those runs where you feel infinitely better at the end than you did at the beginning.

Long run home

Out in Manly with a mate from the UK on Saturday night and hangovers are affecting me more these days.  So had a rest day.   Ran home this evening but added the Wednesday wharves run to start with for 30.2km all up in 2:15ish (4:27's).  Bumped into Fats at Darling Harbour and had a good chat.  Handling these long runs fine now, but helped by a rest day the day prior.

Curl Curl Parkrun - 3rd in 16:30

Rocked up with Macca and Quentin.  CT was there, knew he'd go off quick so plan was just to stick to him.  Thing is, he went off very quick and I was a pussy and held back from the start.  Ran with Q the whole way sharing the work.  He made an effort at 4km.  I thought he'd gone early but he held the customary 4s gap.  CT maintained the gap he had by 2km and, just to rub salt into my wounds, beat my course PB by 1s in running 16:17.  Disappointed at the end, particularly as I felt fine running home.  Need to get myself out of this 16:30 rut by committing early on.

16km all up.

To work

Ran to work.  Untimed but very slow.  Few strides and body OK but tired.

110km for the week.

HuRTS Hickson Rd

The crew of Modern Family blocked our usual Park Hyatt route so we made up 1.2kms starting just prior to the Bridge.  Another good crowd with the English Andys, Fats and Enda up front with Tucks still struggling (or deceiving us - no one can quite decide) further back with MC, LJ, Timmy and even Kanser making an appearance.

No idea as to pace as I'd left the Suunto at home.  Decided to sit in behind Enda and Andy C for each rep but halfway around each one I'd feel their pace drop so took it on after that.  Felt great today with plenty of pace.  No doubt I'll pay the price on the weekend.  Did a long cool down with Timmy, MC and Slapstick for 14km all up.

Have entered State 10000m a week Saturday following cajoling from Barts.  Will be my first ever track 10km.  Also going to do The Equaliser on Sunday but not too hard and as part of a longer run.

Bondi

Met up with MC, Andy Cross, Slapstick, Elan and a client of MC's.  Ran to Bondi.  Jumped in the surf.  Ran back to the office.  Only in Sydney.

Highlight of the trip was seeing the reaction of Mikey when he found a $10 note on the pavement at Bondi.  I've never seen anyone swivel and swoop so quickly.  It was like watching the figure skating at the Olympics.

17.5km in 1:25 (4:50's).

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

What I learned today:

1.  HuRTS sessions are mentally and physically tough.  This was my first in 3.5 months and I'd forgotten how hard they are.

2.  The squad just grows and grows.

3.  The old timers are on the comeback!  Great to see Tucks, Fast Charlie, Muz and Phil Dove out there plus the likes of MC, Macca, Enda, Andy, Jeet, Pete W, Louis, LJ and a whole host more.

4.  Muz is on fire.  Seriously so.  He was effortlessly putting 10s into the rest of us over a 3min rep.  Needs a haircut mind.

I struggled early on but improved as the session progressed.  I think it was the mental side of things I struggled with most.  Didn't worry about the pace but tried to keep up with Bart's, Enda and Andy while working the hills and relaxing on the downhills and flats.  The new 3 min route around Mrs Mac Chair is a great improvement.

18k all up.

Super Long Sunday

Over to Centennial early doors for what will probably be my longest run pre-Six Foot.  Did a lap of the park solo then met CT, Barts, Enda, LJ, TB, Renaud, Birchy, Jeet, Young Timmy, BK and numerous others for 38km.  Everyone was running different distances but had company the whole way after the first lap with Terence finishing the last few km.  Real confidence booster today as I felt fine even at 38km and even managed some manual labour this arvo.  Having second thoughts about selling the house now that I've actually put some work into it.

2:51:42 all up (4:30's).

Curl Curl Parkrun - 1st in 16:39

Well, this morning we had scheming and shenanigans worthy of a Game of Thrones episode.  And let me tell you, I was playing the role of the upstanding Eddard Stark and Enda was the scheming Tyrion Lannister.  He has form with dwarfs too.

Turned up having driven the family there (Kirst still in hospital but more on that later) and did a warm up bumping into Enda, Macca and Birchy but found ourselves running out of time.  There was a bit of standing around going on so I popped into the loos while Enda with the hidden agenda hurries the starter to get going.  I wander out of the loo smiling ready to greet everyone with a bit of banter on the start line only to see the backs of everyone running away and my Dad shouting something along the lines of "Tom, you daft twat!".  Well, I was a bit pumped then.  I reckon I lost at least 10s and had to run across the rough ground the catch everyone up.  At 1km Enda was way out front with Big Mikey H still 7s in front of me (I was timing the gaps).  Still running angry I caught them at the 2km mark but Enda immediately just tucks onto my shoulder for a free ride.  Seriously, that guy has no shame.

Started to tire a bit towards 3km with spirits only lifted with the 3 minor Highnams and one Super Senior Highnam cheering from the sidelines.  To be fair to Enda, he did take the lead for about 20m but semed more keen on looking at his watch.  From then on the race was an almost exact replica of last week.  Started to lift the pace with 1km to go wanting to avoid a sprint finish and got a slight gap coming over the bridge.  Pretty rooted by the finish line to be honest.  16:39 on the clock so taking into account the start it was about the same as last week.

Enda finished with a 16:47 to take $20 off me.  Fair play to him, he's running well as times seemed a bit slower this week.  I think the start/finish line was further back than usual - no doubt Otto (who ran the show this morning and succumbed to Enda's pressure on the start line) was trying to protect his PB.

Morning was topped off on the drive home to hear that Kirst's pathology results came through all clear!

Data

Easy 8km run with a few sprints thrown in to stretch the legs.  35:01 (4:22's).  Ran with a heart rate monitor for the first time ever.  Averaged 135bpm - got up to 153bpm on each of the sprints.  Love the stats.

Doing Curl Curl Parkrun tomorrow where I need to stay in front of Enda.

Another long tempo

Same 16.5km tempo as last week.  60:31 (3:39's) today.  Was similar as last week to 10km (36:18) but then lost it a bit into the wind coming back along Manly beach.

Warm and very humid today which didn't help.  But solid session nonetheless.

1km warmdown.

Mater movements

10km from the Mater.  Some great trails through Artarmon Reserve which you don't expect in the middle of a city.  Hilly and tired.  45mins.

Tradey Tuesday

After a day of manual labour around the house I knocked out the 15km Allambie Hill/Seaforth Oval route in the early evening in 68:22 (4:33's) feeling very sore.

Loving the short track speed skating at the Olympics.  It's got to be the best spectator sport.

Long run with friends!

Finally some company after weeks of long runs solo.  Met Andy and Macca at home, caught up with Jamie then met Tiger and Amy at Dee Why.  Up around Narrabeen Lake and back.  36.3km all up in 2:46:34 (4:34's).  We started off very slowly (I still had a hangover from too many red wines) at 6am but Tiger and Jamie were throwing a few quick ones in there on the way back through Cromer.

Very tired now.  I'm still struggling to back up for the long run after pushing the Parkrun the day before.

Curl Curl Parkrun - 1st in 16:28

So this morning we had the Truscotts, Jamie, Macca, Justin, Charlie, Pete W, Big Mikey H and 188 other people for the increasingly popular Curl Curl Parkrun.  Lovely morning with little wind and lots of PBs out there.  Went off quite quick feeling confident and trying to drop CT who's only recently returned from foot surgery (albeit on a 2014 running streak).  Well, the tenacious bugger just wouldn't let go.  I started to lose it a bit at 3km and he took the lead only for me to have another pop going up the hill on Harbord Rd.  On the bridge with 600m to go and he's still on my shoulder.  Keep on increasing the pace and gradually get a slight gap so that there's no mad sprint thank God.

Pleased with the time off biggest week in 4 months (and first mid-week session in same period).  Impressed by CTs time off little training.  Macca went well for another PB in 17:30. ML Charlie also avoided getting chicked by Greta off seemingly little training.  He could go well if he applied himself.

Jog there and back the long way for circa 16km.

Just before 3km.  CT in 2nd, with Big Mikey H and Jamie in the background.

Plod

Very easy jog to Shelley, bumping into Ben and Big Sam swilling beer from brown paper bags along Manly beach.  Felt very virtuous.

10.5km in 49mins (4:36's) which brings up 100km for the week.  Being anal like most runners, there was a reason for running 10.5km.  First 100km week since October.

Tempo Time

Was planning a 2km TT with Barts but he pussied out so I did a 16.5km tempo instead (because it's really similar) - usual route to Shelley Beach and back with an extra loop of the Golf Course.

Bit of wind going down the beach which made me tired at the 9km mark and quite warm (25C) but otherwise felt great.  Finished in 59:44 (3:36's).  Very happy with that - about 10s per km faster than I was expecting.  In better shape than I had thought.

Stats

More easy stuff

Been reading about marathon training and sounds like everything I'm doing at the moment is contrary to an effective marathon training plan.  But, in 2 weeks time I'll be back to HuRTS sessions so might as well enjoy the easy training for a bit longer.

Today was 12km easy in 4:27's with Charlie on his bike.  Charlie provided a constant stream of conversation which avoided any dull moments.

Another pain free run.  This nightly liaison with the foam roller seems to be working a treat. Struggling this evening with big pudding cravings.

Finally, thank God Joe Kinnear is gone.  Now just for Mike Ashley.

Long run in the heat

Only chance to get out today was at 1pm in 30C heat.  Did 34km around Narrabeen with a loop of the Golf Course at the end.  2:29:31 (4:23's).  Bumped into Macca early on so did a few km with him.  Last few km were a struggle in the heat running from bubbler to bubbler but at least the pace didn't slow.  Maybe this sugar free diet is working.

No discipline

Drinking wine until 2am last night so just 12km easy in 4:23's today.  Will do the long run tomorrow.

Ran in my new Wave Rider 17's.  Felt good, but will reserve judgment until tomorrow to see how the various niggles are.

Striders 10km Homebush - 5th in 34:57

Went out like it was a 5km, came home like it was a marathon.  

Felt magic in the first km running with the leaders (Dave Criniti, Neil P and Robin W) but then they suddenly drifted in front and I was running solo.  Aware that someone wasn't too far behind and at the bridge switchback saw that Fats and Quentin were right behind.  They came past at 5km reached in 17:00 and I was ready to step off the course.  It was warm and very humid as ever and I knew the second lap would be a struggle.  Fats and Q pulled ahead but then at 7km they both slowed and I was back on board.  Pushed on with Q who pulled ahead for his customary 7s cushion and I was happy it was all over.

Fairly satisfied given it's off 80km per week and no HuRTS sessions in 3 months.  But need to start some proper work soon.

Nice run by Neil P to win in 33:19 and Macca will be satisfied with 36:50 but not too many other happy faces out there this morning.

Not worth mentioning

7.5km very easy in 4:45's.

Got a bet with Enda for tomorrow morning's 10km at Homebush.  I'm giving him a 30s headstart for $20.  Hope he's not in PB form.

More easy as

14km easy and untimed with 5 efforts towards the end.  Felt great today.  No pain in knee for first time in months after plenty of foam roller work recently.

Early doors

10km easy in 44:10 early doors while kids at squads.  Few strides towards end but tired after last night's efforts.  Bumped into LFCharlie on the beach emerging from the waves Ursulla Andress style.

Cop out hills

Planned on something harder like a 5km tempo within a 14km run but persuaded myself out of it so just did the Allambie Hill/Seaforth Oval route but pushed hard on the 4.5km Allambie Hill.

Just over 15km in 65:54 (4:20's) but a good pace up the hill.  Stats.

Bogan fringe

32km around Narrabeen solo.  2:17 something (4:17's) so a solid hit out. Said hello to the super-smooth Angus McGillavray in Cromer but other than dodging the Narrabeen trailer park locals setting up shop early doors for Australia Day, that was about it.  

Back home

Yesterday was a bloody hilly 19km on the roads from Crackenback (or "Crack 'n Sac" as the kids call it) to Jindabyne.  4:33's.

Today was a very easy 7km around home in the late afternoon after unpacking.  Felt pretty good.  4:27's.

Holiday catch-up

Monday was 5km very easy picking up the car.

Tuesday was a rest travelling to Canberra.

Wednesday was 10km on trails around Lake Crackenback resort.  Runners heaven here.  

Today we climbed Kosciusko (about 14km round trip) with me carrying Claudia on my shoulders 90% of the way.  Too knackered to run when I got back.  Sensational views though on a crystal clear day - some of the best I've ever seen.

Getting longer

30.4km in 2:17 something (4:31's) with Quentin around and about Manly including up to North Head.  Hot as we ran at 10am and legs were very tired after yesterday.  

Must remind myself when deep in marathon training that there's no such thing as an easy 30km when you're not used to it.

Curl Curl Parkrun - 1st in 16:27

Jogged over with Macca with another good crowd with Andy, Justin and Big Mikey H back again with Jonny B, the Tiger and Amy also showing.  Some random dude from Belgium also turned up.

Binfield went off quickest with the Belgian chap following him.  I was a few yards behind at 1km and 2km.  On the jog to the start I told Macca he needed to get under 18mins and the way to do it is to attack the 3rd km.  So I tried to do the same.  Caught them at 3km but the effort in doing so meant I dropped off a bit to the 4th km.  Then at 4km the pace dropped a bit so I thought it was a chance to push on.  Luckily neither JB not Eddie Merckx followed so I wasn't subjected to a sprint finish I'd no doubt lose.

So the yo-yo'ing continues but very happy with today's time and to have a good competitive run.  Hats off to JB who did all the work.  Runs of the day go to Macca who smashed through 18mins with a 17:44 and Amy who crushed her PB with a 17:30, paced by the Tiger.

Awesome video of a monkey bar kids fight.

Easy Friday

14km route to Shelley and back.  60:50 (4:20's).  31:24 on the way out, 29:26 on the return.  Nice and easy with a few strides thrown in at the end. Canny warm like.

The Stats.

Sammy's bailed on 4 gorges tomorrow with too any pullouts so I'll do Parkrun.  Again.  Not sure which set of legs will show up tomorrow.

Akuna

Usual route with Macca, Ben and Sam.  Macca copped a flat outside Bunnings in Narrabeen just as we were flying along with the Warringah Cycle club train.  Ben and Sam went on to do West Head as well, with Macca deciding to punish me with a quick climb of Akuna instead.  Managed a new PB (9:48) (Macca did 9:30) and cruised through to the Box to Box in 14:53.  If nothing else, the cycling fitness is coming on in leaps and bounds.

DC Run

5km warm-up, an hour with Dave concentrating on core and glutes (not as intense as recently), then 5km warm-down.  Good stuff.

Recovery run

10.2 km nice and easy (4:28's).  Sore after yesterday for first few km then good.  Bumped into Clive on Manly beach and did the second half with him.  He's persuading me to do Byron Bay Olympic distance tri on May 10th.  Could be a goer.  More interesting was his talk of duathlons - run bike run.  Sounds more like my sort of thing.

Long Monday

Whoa, just realised I've been working on a simple version of Blogger.  Loads more options here.  What's a jump-break?  Looks like I can add videos much more easily too.  Will have to buy a Go-Pro.

Took yesterday off as I was absolutely knackered and Kirst had a bad chemo day (her worst yet).

Got out for the long run today and felt comfortable on it for the first time since Berlin training ended.  Threw in a couple of big hills as a result (North Head up from Shelley and Allambie hill at the end).  Did 28km (stepping up gradually each week) in 2:01:51 (4:20's).

Have added Andy to the Head to Heads given he's beaten me.  Nephew Jack's blog is the one to read for someone in form.  Those km reps are starting to look dangerous.

Here's a jump break:

Curl Curl Parkrun - 3rd in 17:17

Another increased turnout from the HuRT Squad and it's band of merry followers. Macca and I were caught by Justin on the jog over, then we mingled with Andy, LF Charlie and even Big Mikey H on the start line. Sam Walker was there so a win was out of the question. Within 500m I realised a podium pretty much was out too.

Legs felt like I was running through treacle. Doing the Akuna Ride the day before seems to be the common theme. There was a group of 4 of us (Sam, Andy and BMH) through 1km but by 2km they had gapped me. Then on the tough 3rd km the front 3 had spread out. Had the consolation of picking up a burned-out Mikey over the final km and ran a bit better then but well beated by Andy and Sam.

Ran home the long way with Macca (also slower than last week but not by much - he'll be sub18 next week), Justin (nice start to seasons) and run of the day LF Charlie (19:14) for 15k all up.

Bike and run

Around Akuna with Sammy, Ben and Macca this morning.  New PB up Akuna hill (10:19) only 20s behind Macca this time.  Aim is to get under 10mins in next few weeks.  Got my first puncture on the way home.

8km this afternoon very easy but struggled for the first few km as a result of the ride. Outside of left hip has been sore since then.  Had eased up by the end of the run.  36:55 (4:36's).  Quick chat to Justin along Queenscliff lagoon - he's just starting back for the year.

Thursday hill (again)

To the top of Allambie hill (6.5km) and back. 29:15 up, 26:34 back for 55:49 (4:17's). Feeling good but the glutes/hammies were very tight after yesterday's strength work.

DC Training

Wednesday was an hour of glute work with DC. Stepping up the intensity and I was wobbling on the jog home. Had a chat to Thamal on the way back who has continued to suffer from the chronic fatigue when putting the hard sessions in.

Solo cycle

Missed the morning ride with Macca and Sam with Kirst training so did 30km in the arvo in just under an hour cycling up to North Head and doing 5 loops plus one trip down to the Police Management School. Bit annoying with the speed bumps but at least it's traffic free. Windy up there which made it hard work by myself but just tried to keep the average pace above 30kmh. Got the glutes working which was the main aim.

Hilly

Buoyed by how I felt after running the hills in Kangaroo Valley last week, I decided to try to replicate it. Only long hill I could think of was Allambie hill. Holy crap. It's 3.2km from bottom to top. But again felt good running up it. Decided to do a loop so ran along the bush track next to Wakehurst Parkway (albeit some of it is now road for a new housing development) then the Dicky Green route back from Seaforth Oval. If I felt good going up the hills, I felt very average after the bush running which I need to bear in mind for Six Foot.

All up 15km in 68:29 (4:32 pace). Nice loop

2013 in Review

Well, it was a year of what might have beens. Pleased to see the end of it to be honest. With Kirst getting ill, pulling out of Berlin and pulling out of our 3 month trip across Aus, it turned on its head what should have been a great year.

Having said all that, I probably got as fit as I've ever been building up towards Berlin. In retrospect, I think I started the build up a bit too early. I became obsessed about fitting in a certain number of long tempo runs, but reckon I actually peaked around mid-August. Specifically, it was a Pyramid session I did on August 22nd and the 5000m TT on 30 July that gave me most confidence. In terms of races, my top 3 were:

1. Gold Coast Half. Massive PB and what turned out to be a rare win over Barts.

2. NSW Long Course XC. Bit of a turning point when the strength started to kick in.

3. State 5000m. Good time for early in the season.

Most disappointing was City to Surf. I was in great form but was on antibiotics the week leading up to the event and never felt comfortable.

Just looked back on last year's "Year in Review" and have realised that for the second year running I didn't run a good 10km. Didn't run too many (but more than last year) with the fastest being State 10km on the road in 33:01. So I haven't run under 33 since my PB in September 2011. I was capable of it this year (going through the first 10km of GC Half in 33:27 and not slowing much from then) but didn't have the race to put it together. That has to be the aim for this year - to get back into the 32's. The other aim will likely be Melbourne Marathon in early October. But I'll start the build up later.

It's officially long

26km with Macca around Shelley and Curl Curl. Did 5 or 6 strides towards the end. 1:58:43 (4:33's).

Weighed myself this morning. 66.9kg after 1 day on the new food regime. Not sure how I lost 2.2kg after a week eating crap and drinking to excess while camping, but hey ho. Last night I dreamed about the cold chicken in the fridge.

Curl Curl Parkrun - 1st in 16:38

The Curl Curl Parkrun gets more and more popular with the HuRT Squad (and in general).  Turned up with Macca to find Binfeld, Andy, Pete Walker and the Tiger all there along with the usual crowd and the Tiger's gun females.

Fully expected to be turned over by at least JB, Andy and the Tiger based on the last 2 weeks' performance.  So headed out slightly easier with the intention of hanging on to Andy for as long as possible.  JB went off quick but we started to catch him around the 1km mark.  Hit the front along Griffin Rd thinking at least I can say I was in the lead for a bit.  Was feeling much better than the last 2 weeks so tried harder for the 3rd km.  Ran without a watch so was pleased to hear the time when I crossed the line.

Starting new diet today.  Always said I ran so that I could eat and drink what I liked but it's the last variable I've got to try and run quicker.  Going to do Brad Pamp's 21 day program from Jan 27th.  Weigh in tomorrow morning.

Usual run there and back with Macca for 16km all up.

Jan 3rd

LF Charlie joined us in Bendeela at some point, I think I got my days mixed up.  Anyway, did the same route again with him untimed and easier.

Jan 2nd

Same as New Year's Eve but 23:11 in way out and 18:56 on return.  Feeling good again.

New Year's Eve

Down in Bendeela in Kangaroo Valley.  Beautiful spot, trouble is it's at the bottom of a steep 1.5km hill.  Did 5km out and 5km back.  23:11 on the way out, 19:12 coming back.  Felt like I was running properly for the first time in weeks though.

Did Akuna Bay the day before with Macca, Sam and Ben G in 1:59 feeling good.