2011 in Review

I started the year with a perfect January - ran every day of the month (first time ever) and put in a good base. First race of the year was a disappointing result in the "Sun Run" and probably won't bother with that race again. I don't normally moan about race fees but $50 for a 7km on roads I train on every day was a bit steep. In any case, I'm planning on taking the Striders 10km series more seriously next year given the attention Macca, Ben, CT and others are paying to it.

March was a PB in the Six Foot Track (I take any PB I can these days) and more good groundwork. April was my first 10km with a disappointing run at Lane Cove. In retrospect I think I was adapting to the heavier workload but I should also have been racing more. Then it was the Novice 10km where things started to improve a bit. I'll do more X-Country next year due to my ANSW duties. Then in May the 10kms started to come together with a 33:29 at Homebush (course record for me) and a 33:26 at North Head, shortly before the State 10km where I finally got under 33 mins for only the second time in a tough race. Had a good SMH Half in between running in a great pack all of the way.

Then it was a bit of a purple patch with the marathon, City to Surf and North Head 10km. That was followed by sickness and injury and a disappointing end to the season with 5 weeks of virtually nothing recovering from the achilles. But in summary:

Top 3 races:

1. North Head 10km. First win and a PB to boot over the distance I race most regularly.
2. Gold Coast Marathon. Solid first effort on a day when lots of others struggled, but there's more ground to be made.
3. SMH Half. I've picked this over the City to Surf purely because it was more of a race and I reckon that, comparatively, the time is better.

Top 3 Films:

1. The Fighter
2. The Guard
3. Bridesmaids

Top book:

A Week in December (probably makes my top 3 ever)

Top Viral Clip:

Annoying Orange meets Lady Pasta I share my kids' love for Annoying Orange.

So, there it is. Head to Heads will get refreshed. Tucks can't go missing next year otherwise I'll introduce a forfeit system. Thamal will get added as a stretch target. Looking forward to 2012. Aim is to run 2:33 at Gold Coast, go well in some 10kms and beat my long-standing Half Marathon PB. More Cross Country, more long tempo runs but otherwise more of the same.

Ta da.

Peroni

Easy 8km first thing in the morning. Legs couldn't get going and felt every ache and pain. Think my body is still adjusting to upping the mileage from zero. 88km this past week. Ran the 7.5km route in 32:46 then continued up to the coffee shop in Fairlight.

Coopers again

11.8km in 46:58 (3:58's). Went out in the warmth of the late afternoon at a comfortable pace. Yesterday that was 4:40's, today it was 4:00's. Make hay while the sun shines.
Now to prepare the house before Timmy et al arrive for beers tomorrow...

Sapporo

8.7km recovery run in about 4:35's feeling the effects of the last couple of days, Finished off with a 150m race against Jack, my 14 year old nephew. Bec's birthday today so dinner at a Teppanyaki restaurant, hence the title.

Tempo time

Got a text from the Tiger yesterday suggesting a 16km tempo at 3:45s. It sounded ambitious given it would follow my first long run in 10 weeks, but you can't turn down an offer from the Tiger so agreed to meet him at 7:30am at Drummoyne Rowers. We did a warm up, he showed me all the 250m markers he'd painted on to the pathway (including the 16km end spot in large letters next to a smiley face) and we jogged back to the start.
Gary set off like a hare and I followed behind. We ran he first 4km together sharing the wind which was pretty strong and I knew which would make the tempo target all the harder. Gary dropped off coming up the bridge near 5km and I just tried to maintain 3:45's but more often than not found myself running 3:46's. My breathing was fine but the legs were dead from yesterday - no zip so I knew that to pick up the pace over the final 3km to make up for lost time would be tough. Did laps of the Bay in 26:00 and 26:12 and finished in 1:00:36. So 3:47 average pace (despite my Garmin showing 16.17km and 3:44 pace - i'll take Gary with Action's measuring wheel every time). Gary finished in the 63's. Another good one under the belt. I'm convinced these long tempos will do some good.

VB

Bush run Part 1.

After a great Christmas Day where I stuffed myself full of Christmas Pudding and Pavlova and couldn't get comfortable for about 30mins after crashing in bed due to my bloated stomach, I was up and out by 6.30am to meet Dicky G, Paul Macca and Justin(?) for a run "with a few trails, but nothing too technical" as Dicky described it. Nice easy pace to start with (and throughout) which was a welcome relief. Headed up the side of Manly Dam, along Wakehurst Parkway, through Forestville and down towards Roseville Bridge but back along the pipeline. Some monstrous hills in there which immediately reminded me of Six Foot and wondered why the hell I'd entered. Beautiful morning though and good company meant the 2:15 passed in no time. About 25kms.

Billecart Salmon

My usual 14km Manly route. Set off with Alec and Gill who were doing the same route but only 12km's turning just before South Steyne. Worked out we'd probably all finish at the same time that way and that's the way it turned out. Clocked every km between 4:10 and 4:15. Felt comfortable other than between 10 and 12km where the humidity affected me. Had forgotten what it's like to struggle through the humidity. All up 58:59 (4:12's) turning in 29:45.

Bollinger

Just 10km from work in 42:45, following a Tiger massage this morning. Feeling very tired.

Hickson Road

Stuffed at work so couldn't make the start, so joined in on rep 2 and only did 4. They went:

3:42
3:40
3:38
3:37

Ran at the front with Bartles, Ray, Andy and in-form Scotty. Ray went off like a madman on the last rep and only just got in touch with him at the end after he went lactic in the final 100m. Nice to spend at least a little time at the front again though.

The first was tough but they felt more manageable after that. Can't believe I've done 5 of these in 3:30 or under before though. Still the toughest session and one from which men are made from. Noticeable that Enda and Kanser were missing...

Coopers Pale Ale

Just a run home after a stressful day in the office. First run home in a while though. Ran it surprisingly quick (54:43) feeling pretty good, but the conditions were perfect (cool and no wind). Ran past Fats on the Harbour Bridge and said hello. He shouted back something along the lines of his New Year's resolution being to turn up to HuRTS. We'll see.

HuRTS 4 x 10mins

Frantic at work. Fronted up late. Joined in after about 15s. Tucks, Charlie and man-in-form Scott O'Connor were way out in front with Andy valiantly chasing and Timmy, Rich H and I chatting along in the next group. Was working far harder than normal though just to keep 3:35 pace going. Quickened up a bit on the way back running with Enda. Then on rep 3 set off with Timmy but soon developed a neck strain trying to work out where he was. Turned out he'd decided to bludge again, running (and later swimming) with the ladies. He can't seem to handle this session. Ran 5 yards behind Andy for the whole rep and picked up Scott towards the end, averaging about 3:32's. Then, with dead legs and a lack of ticker I rolled through the 4th getting back in 9:43 watching Tucks and Fast Charlie fly by around Farm Cove.

Plenty of improvement to come. Good to see Big Sam out there planning his assault on London Marathon. Paul Macca, MC, Luke and others also making welcome returns.

It will get easier, it will get easier...

Decided to add some ammunition to Timmy's cause by posting some photos. I think this one involved Enda describing his experiences in Bangkok to JC and Kanser.

MLR Sunday

Decided it was time to try and start to up the kms today. Fixed on a 19km run which was basically my 14km Manly route plus a loop of the Golf Course on the way out and at the end. Plan was to run the second half a bit quicker and finish strong. Reached half way (9.53km) in 38:42 and still felt OK at 15km (60:48) so spent the final 4km trying to get the average pace under 4:00 for the total run. Had to put in a bit of effort as a result and felt pretty tired at the end. All up 19.1km in 1:16:02 (3:59's). Plan to make this my standard Saturday run leading up to next year's marathon, hopefully getting the pace down to 3:40's.

Saturday squeeze

Just the short Manly 7.5km route in 29:46. Will try a longer one tomorrow.

HuRTS Awards Night

Thursday night was the annual awards night. Bigger turnout than ever as HuRTS goes from strength to strength with about 40 people turning up for the night of nights. I even got a little bit nervous before the presentation such was the anticipation for some of the biggest accolades in Australian running. Benny St was there to present the awards to the following:

Male Performance of the Year: Tucks. It seems that HuRTS is falling foul to the creeping influence of the off road ultra brigade.

Female Performance of the Year: Laura. This was never in doubt.

Most Improved: Young Timmy. A controversial choice for many. He only knocked 40s off his 10km PB for God's sake. But it goes to prove that if you shout about it loud enough, people will listen.

The Serg Award: MC. My prediction is he won't retain it next year though. Early money is on Young Timmy.

HuRTS Spirit Award: Dicky H. Always listening. Always joking. Always running. Always drinking.

I missed a large part of the evening on a work call but it meant Friday I wasn't feeling too shabby. Did 10km in the late afternoon, 20:24 at half way and 39:18 all up. Felt great for the first time in 6 weeks (final 2km in under 7 mins) so things are looking up.

Too busy

8km in 32:00 alone.

HuRTS 2 x 20mins

Much excitement amongst the HuRTS chattering class today, with the perennial underperformer announcing an exciting new session for the squad - 2 x 20mins! There was a lot of thought and science put into this new session. Those who whispered mutterings to the effect that it was nothing more than 8 x 5mins or 4 x 10mins but with fewer rests were immediately shot down for doubting our peerless leader and training guru.

So off we went, after establishing that the proponent of the session was not coming because he'd tweaked his hammy again. Ran with J-Fen (who was taking it easy today) on the way out. Struggled with 3:40 pace but we covered 5.48km in the 20 mins (3:38's). On the way back I was by myself until Kanser and J-Fen joined me around CQ so I ran with them. Felt pretty tired on the hills but got back in 19:29 (3:33 pace).

11km all up.

Monday getting longer

Out with the squad (chasing them for the first km) which included MC, the King, Craig, Big Sam, Jonathan W, Rob and Clyde but which splintered around Farm Cove. Ended up doing about 11km at 4:26 pace.

Bit of effort

Headed out at 5pm with Dicky Green for what I thought would be an easy 10km (Dicky's been off for 10 days sick). Pace was never quite comfortable though. I think Dicky was enjoying putting me out of my comfort zone. Ended up with 10.4km in 42:00 (4:02's). Longest run in about 5 weeks. Ran past 200 Santas, 6 reindeer and a Christmas Tree. All pissed.

Wearing the Wave Elixir's with the laces tied low and seems to work well for the technique and achilles.

More plodding

7.8km on the paths up to Seaforth and back. Wore new Wave Elixirs. That's about as much interest I can muster.

Great run by Benny St this evening to be the first Aussie track runner assured of a spot in the Olympics. I'll enjoy watching him from the stands.

Passport Photos

Today was an easy 7.5km with Rob, Craig, Ray and a few others before having a massage with the Tiger. Achilles a bit sore so will take it easy over the next couple of days and do all the stretches.

Kids had their passport photos taken this week. They were told that they weren't allowed to smile and that they might not be allowed out of the country if their photos showed them smiling. Billy managed to look like a zombie, Charlie looks like he wants a fight and Maggie couldn't help but sneak a smirk in. Claudia was only one who could look vaguely normal.

Losing track

I think last Tuesday I was with the squad doing fartlek easily.
Wed was a rest.
Thursday was 8km easy.
Friday was department Christmas party.
Sat was a hungover 8km.
Sunday was a lively 8km.
Monday was a rest.
Tuesday an 8km run home before getting a taxi at Spit Junction.
Wednesday was over 8km at home at 4min km pace.
Today I joined the squad for the first proper session in weeks. 4 x 2km. Planned from the start just to run with MC doing 7mins per rep but unfortunately he's improved a bit so it was 6:50, 6:50, 6:50 and 6:48. Struggled through it lacking both pace and stamina, but survived and the achilles is OK. Kanser and Andy H have both hit form. Clyde did his usual burglar activity and Tucks was wondering why everyone was running so fast. Plainly he's been out on the trails for too long. I won't even mention Timmy.
Fingers crossed for Billy tomorrow.

Piling it on

..the weight that is, not the training.

Wednesday was a rest and too wet to ride in.

Thursday was an easy 7km joining in a few of the Gate to Gates at the back. No bike though as too wet again.

Friday was recovery from our client Christmas party.

Saturday was 6km picking the car up from the International Hotel Management School after another function (it's silly season) and 10 mins sweating it out on the spin bike doing a minute resistance and minute spin.

Sunday was another easy 6km and 20 mins on the spin bike doing 2 mins resistance, 2 mins spin.

Today was a very easy 8km with the HuRT Squad including MC, Kanser, Clyde, Mat K, Craig, James V, Indrajeet, Laura etc. Rode in and out too. Finally the weather is perfect again.

Have gained 4kg in 3 weeks and now weigh 70.3kg. My singlets feel snug. But good news is that the achilles feels heaps better. Swelling right down, no pain, have increased the weight on my back doing the eccentric loading and booked in to see the Butcher of Bondi tomorrow. So things are looking up.

Big shout to my eldest brother Jamie for running 2:49 in the Florence Marathon yesterday. Fantastic result. Plainly he's been listening to the wise counsel of his little brother.

The rot sets in

Saturday was a rest. Sunday was fulflling my duty as the ANSW rep (Mens) for the Striders at the ANSW Relays out at Homebush. After fiddling around with the teams for a week I found myself down to run in the 4 x 800m (160+) with Mat Kaley, Ray and Anna. Mat ran a great first leg in 2:09, Ray backed up with a 2:12, Anna got us into 2nd place with a 2:30 (first ever track race!) and I took over the last leg with Michael Doggett right behind me. I was a pussy from the start, running it like a 3000m race trying to conserve some energy. Doggett came past at 200m and just ran away from me. Eventually finished in 2:13 with my tail between my legs (and swollen achilles). At least we got a bronze medal. Jogged 6km in the 34C heat as a "warmdown".

Monday rode to work and back feeling good but didn't run as the achilles was sensitive. Took Voltaren last night just to try and blast away the swelling (it's already a lot more supple). Rode to work this morning then showed up to the HuRTS session today (45min fartlek) and just ran 6.75km very easy with Pete W, Sonya, Emma and James V. Will ride home in the rain shortly. I might become a cyclist. There's not enough gear to buy with just running.

Friday repeat

Same again. Run in 24:48. Saw Mark Green again - just after Clyde and just before Kanser. The HuRT Squad is keeping them in business. He said that runners shouldn't worry about climbing out of the saddle so happily did so on the way home.

Tosh.O

Funniest show on TV.

Same as yesterday, ride in, 6km at lunch concentrating on technique (24:32) and a ride home. Bloody wet.

It's worse than childbirth

I don't know of any female who has returned to see Jean Pierre after a first visit. And yet women more often than not have more than one baby. Therefore seeing JP must be more painful. My calf is now pulp and swollen to twice its normal size. But I survived.

Rode to work in 39:41, did 6km easy at lunch then rode home very carefully in the rain. My tyres are almost slicks and I took a deep breath at every corner and going over every white line.

On ya Bike

Saw The Body Mechanic yesterday. Got to take it easy on the running for a while. Go back on Friday to get a plan. In the meantime I've booked in to see the Butcher of Bondi tomorrow. I'll take a leather strap to bite on and some tissues to wipe away the tears.

Today was a very easy 6km on grass wearing flats with heel raises. Concentrated on running technique which made time pass very slowly. Then rode home on The Orb this evening, feeling much stronger on the bike than I expected (managed to get up Battle Boulevard at a good pace without getting out of the saddle). I'll suffer tomorrow but will use the bike to commute to keep the weight off. Used our funky new scales to weight myself this evening - 66.6kg. Very appropriate.

Nipper overload

There was no Part 2. Achilles issues and business put paid to that. Going to see a specialist on Wednesday morning.

Today was an easy 11.5km in 49:07 (4:17's) on the Manly 14km route cutting straight back from Queenscliff. Achilles was OK but aware of it the whole way.

Hong Kong Part 1

Met up with the lovely Aine (who true to form was off the back of consecutive 12 hour benders) and her work colleague Nick for one of the most interesting training runs I've ever done. Hong Kong is nuts. We ran through the busiest metropolis in the world, up the steepest longest path I've ever seen, through rainforest seeing fireflies, along a ridge with the most spectacular views, once around Happy Valley Racecourse and back to Wan Chai. 1:21 but very slow. Fantastic run though.

Lane Cove 10km - 3rd in 33:40

Got picked up by Ben, Dickyboy and the Hamburglar and arrived at 6.30am to park next to Andy with his personalised number plated BMW X3 and walked over to meet a beaming Timmy. CT was getting the excuses in early, something about Greta making him clean the apartment this week. Thamal was looking confident and the Horne was looking mean.

Set off and I felt great for the first 2km, just tracking whoever took the lead. CT took some of the pace, then the Horne (who seemed to have splashed a fair bit of Old Spice on this morning) and then Thamal. Then we hit Scribbly Gum. Pushed quite hard going up it to stick with Thamal but then coming back down my legs were struggling and Thamal and the Horne gapped me. They were about 3 seconds ahead at 3km but over the next 2km up the hills they must have turned it into 20s. I was on my own from here. CT was about 10s back so it was a time trial. Occasionally I'd feel I was slowing so would try and count to 100 to keep the pace up. But otherwise it was a bit dull. A bit like an Ultra to be honest, just running through the bush with only myself for company. Tried to keep the pace honest but was a bit disappointed to cross in 33:40. I was expecting something sub 33 today and had the runners who did that (the Horne won with Thamal second, both just under 33) but I just didn't have it in the legs. Sole consolation was beating CT, but given he had an off day it's a bit of a hollow victory.

Perhaps it's a lesson that if you want to run a good 10km you've really got to be putting in the mileage and the big Sunday runs. I seem to do best over 10km when I'm doing the big Sunday run and backing up with a tough Wednesday run. The speedwork is great for the shorter stuff. Interestingly, I ran a very similar time at Lane Cove in November 2008 before backing up 4 days later with 17:23 at the JPMorgan CC, again off the back of more speedwork.

Timmy took $20 off me nudging under 36 with a gutsy 35:45. Binfield ran pretty well for 5th place but otherwise the times weren't great. Conditions were perfect at the start but pretty warm by the time we finished.

Not a bad day for a run

Very easy 10.5km today with MC, King James, Craig, Brendan and a few others. About 4:40 pace. Perfect running conditions. Hope it stays like this for tomorrow. Photo taken from office window just now. Looks like a bit of a jam going into Wooloommooloo.

Bummin' about

Rocked up late to the 4 x 2kms, bumped into them half way down Hickson Road so ran back with Clyde and Andy. They were going a bit quick for my liking so did the next rep with MC in 7:00, then ran the final rep with Clyde and Andy pretty quickly in 6:28. Took some Nurofen Forte this morning for my burned throat which left me feeling a bit lethargic. About 10km all up.

Cup Hangover

It bit hard.

Managed to get out this evening for a lazy 12.5km in 55:53 (4:28's) feeling pretty good by the end. Usual Wednesday route but cutting back to the office from Fox Studios gates. Looking forward to Saturday.

The Race that stops a Nation!

..and I lost out on $1,250 by 1mm. Red Cadeaux was in front before the line and after the line, but got his head dip wrong.

Was stuck in a meeting in North Sydney when the boys were doing 400's, and still when the rest of the squad were doing a progressive tempo, but managed to sneak in a quick run just before the Melbourne Cup. Decided a 10km tempo was the best way to complete a decent run in the time available so did my measured route from the office. After a slow first 1km (3:52) I basically gave it full effort. Ran in the Brooks T-6's with orthotics in as my achilles has been giving me gyp. Reached 5km in 17:37, was expecting to run back up the hills in 18:00 but managed to finish in 34:59. The negative split was mainly due to a 3:10 final km trying to get under 35mins.

Easy Monday

Took Friday off with a sore achilles and hangover. Was heading to Centennial for Sean's session on Sat morning when I got called back home due to a home intruder. Trawled the streets of Fairlight looking for her then had to deal with CSI. I'd come down with a cold anyway so didn't feel like going running. Sunday still felt crap so another day's rest.

So today I was well rested for the usual 15.8km route. Very easy pace and felt full of energy. 1:11:15. Durante was there, bouncing around as usual.

HuRTS 8 x 800m

Over to Rushcutters again and off with the shoes for 8 x 800m going off a rolling 4 minutes. Good crowd seeing as MC allowed me to change the official session so Tucks, Kanser, Timmy, J-Fen, Richie H, Big Sam, Pete W, Vicky Joe, MC himself, Laura, Emma and a heap of others were in attendance. I had Tucks alongside for the first couple and leading the final rep and Vicky Joe blasting out rep number 5 otherwise I was leading. Reps went as follows:

2:22
2:21
2:23
2:22
2:22
2:21
2:21
2:14

Felt comfortable again barefoot but I'll pay the price with my achilles tomorrow. Kanser took a step forward today, running the reps with J-Fen in the 2:27 - 2:28 range before a quick final one. Poor little Timmy seems to be a bit out-classed these days. Rumour is he's shying away from my Lane Cove bet. So that'll be $20 please young sir.

11km all up.

Mid week wanderings

Massage this morning with the Tiger which worked wonders then rocked up at lunchtime with Kanser, Big Sam, RMR, King James, John Bowe and the Whores for the Centennial route. I was planning on cutting back at Fox Studios and only doing 12km but felt good today so continued on for 15km with the rest of the group.

1:06:42 (4:27's).

HuRTS 14 x 3mins

Somehow managed to find some time in the day to get down to HuRTS. Felt tired from the off. Arrived to find a massive crowd gathered (JPMorgan aka the HuRTS Squad Champs are around the corner). We started with a very easy rep in about 3:26 pace and then Bartles, Richie H and Vicky Joe took turns to face the wind while Ray, Tucks, J-Fen, Jason, TB and I bludged. Richie in particular was running very strongly. I was finishing mid pack (Tucks was even behind) and just felt fatigued. However, looking at my watch we were averaging 3:15 to 3:18 pace per rep so I wasn't too bothered. A few pulled out after 10. A few more after 12 and then I suddenly felt really good running the final 2 reps in 3:06 and 3:02 pace. A few days rest and I'm confident things will come together.

16km all up.

Long run in

Summer has arrived. I had forgotten how hard the long run can get in the heat. Ran my 14km Manly route (Shelley and back) in 60:15 (4:17's) after turning at Shelley in 30:24. Then drank some Endura, brushed my teeth, picked my bag up and ran into work (57:38). Running to work was bloody hard, every hill was a real struggle and it was as much as I could do just to keep on turning the legs over.

All up 27km. Struggling with fatigue at the moment but hoping it's just a phase I'll pull through.

Easy Sunday

11.76km in the late afternoon with the elder 2 kids riding their bikes alongside. 52:03 (4:25's). Very tired after yesterday's session and achilles very sore.

More Centennial Stuff

Session this morning was 6km tempo followed by 10 hills. Long warm up, chatting to Keith, Wildman and CT then straight into it. The big guns went off like hares (Benny and Harry went through 5km in 13:59 and did the 6km in 16:40) while I found myself alone as usual - it was a real tempo. CT had gone off hard and hung on well today running 18:35. I did the kms in 3:07, 6:20, 9:35, 12:52, 16:08 and finishing in 19:16. Barefoot again.

Quick chat and jog over to a 100m fairly gentle slope for the hills. These were pretty hard as they were run quick (about 21/22s) with a quick jog back down between each. Then finished with another easy internal loop of the white fence with Wildman, CT and a fast chap called Tony.

CT definitely favourite for the $20 off today's performance.

16km all up.

HuRTS 10 x 400m

Hardcore band of merry men today, strictly for the current form 35min 10km runner. Timmy was nowhere to be seen. Tucks, TB, Richie H, Vicky Joe, J-Fen, Ray and Richies mate fronted on a beautiful day. Check out the shot from my phone on my (very late) commute into work this morning:



We marked out 400m around the Oval - 410m on my Garmin but 400m on others (I don't cut the corners - at least when marking out the lap). The grass was in fantastic condition so I went barefoot again and started the session - each rep run off a rolling 2 minutes. Times were:

68
67
66
67
68
66
66
67
66
62

I was in front on each, had Tucks on my shoulder for most (with him in the lead for the first half on a few) and had to work hard to reel in Vicky Joe on the last. But once again loved the barefoot running. Not the same fatigue on the final 3 reps that I usually get.

10km all up.

Even better than the view from the boat this morning were the views down in Circular Quay at lunchtime where one of my spies took this pic:



Go Cat!

Stuffaroo'd

Manic at work. Managed to sneak out for an 8km jog at 7.30pm before back to the office. Knackered from running anyway.

HuRTS 45mins Fartlek

Lovely day. The usual healthy crowd with a good core group of 5 of us (J-Fen, Bartles, Dicky High, Gus McGillivray and myself) upfront. After last month's effort, I decided just to sit in and bludge off everyone until the final 3km (Opera House gates). That's basically how it went. Felt quite comfortable (physically, not mentally) bludging. We reached halfway opposite the Lend Lease steps so a good effort, the pace then dropped with no-one wanting to do any work into the wind. Running alongside the Toaster I realised we were unlikely to get back in time unless we upped the pace a lot so I started pushing the fast sections hard. This damn near killed me with just Bartles clinging on. Got a slight gap coming up the hills which he closed on the last easy 30 second section. Finished in 44:56 so judged it well. The Garmin measured it accurately at 12.8km averaging 3:30's.

Had stomach cramps all afternoon. I took Voltaren last night and this morning as my achilles was swollen and so I could hammer the eccentric loading. It's disagreed with me (other than for the achilles).

15km all up.

Long Monday

Did 8km by myself struggling and feeling tired, then joined the usual HuRTS squad Monday run and immediately felt good chatting away. Huge crowd but I was chatting mainly to MC, Tucks, TB, Big Sam and Jonathon W. Of the huge crowd, only those guys (less JW), plus the King and Brendan ran the whole thing. I then tagged on a couple of extra km to make it up to 26km. Beautiful day and perfect temp for running.

26.2km in 1:55:48 (4:25's).

Steady Sunday

Hungover this morning after drowning my Welsh glory sorrows in The Steyne last night so only managed a steady 11.5km this afternoon. Despite having spent the whole weekend on my feet I felt great today. 45:50 (3:59s). Seem to have hit a bit of a purple patch. Will try to squeeze a long one in tomorrow.

Wallabies beaten by the better team. That Dagg fella was my man of the match.

Bejaysus! Just seen the results from Burnie 10. Wildman just missing the win but running sub 30 and beating this years City to Surf winner!

Tempo 10km

Over to Centennial this morning to join Sean's group for a tempo 10km. It was pissing with rain and as I sat in the car at 7:25am I seriously contemplated driving straight home. HTFU'd and joined in the 4km warm up chatting to Anna F who was making a first time appearance with Sean.

CT, Huw Williams, Benny St and a couple of other fast guys turned up and we were off in the pouring rain. Made a last minute decision to run barefoot as were on the 1km loop of the playing fields. The corners were a bit slippery but otherwise it was a great choice. Benny disappeared off into the distance and I settled into a group with Huw, Sean, CT and 2 others. They pulled ahead on the 3rd lap but given I was doing km splits of 3:13 or thereabouts I wasn't fussed. Went through 5 laps (5.1km on my Garmin) in 16:28. Caught CT at 7.5km. Pushed on to finish in 32:51 (16:23 second 5km) but feeling great. There really is something in this barefoot running stuff. I notice my stride being shorter but the cadence being higher and seem to suffer fewer aches or fatigue. Although the Garmin said 10.2km, CT reckons it's 9.8km. Still pleased with the time. He finished in 33:50 bludging the last 2 laps and claiming we need to renegotiate the bet. But he's a wily old fella and I can tell he's trying to rort me in some fashion.

Friday run in

Ran in. Holey moley. Small girls on trikes were overtaking me this morning. Not sure of time as my watch ran out of juice half way, very shortly before I did. 27:45 at Spit Junction so I'm guessing high 58's all up.

Been thinking about last night and I'm just proud to have competed with those chaps. Timmy really is an awesome swimmer.

115km for the week.

Biathlon bollx

I needed a minute! I only had 52 seconds and the wily old bugger beat me by 5 seconds. Set off quick tracking CT before he pushed ahead up the hills. Stuck with Fast Charlie until 1.5km when he started catching CT. I was then on my own, but closed in a bit in the final 500m. Finished the 4km run in 12:48. Then spent what felt like a frickin' age trying to get my trainers off before I dived in and before I knew it, Dicky H was coming past. Then Jamie Stewart, then Enda, then Pete W. I think that's it, before I hear Kanser screaming at me from the end of lane 4 telling me Timmy's just behind. Reach the end of lane 5 still ahead and thinking I had a chance. Then inexorably Timmy comes past with 20m to go. Managed to stay ahead of Eoin and Christian so at least I wasn't last placed HuRTs man.

Finished in 19:23, a new PB but $30 poorer. Enjoyable beers after handing over the money to Timmy with Enda, Kanser, CT and Greta in attendance. Fantastic news to hear that Greta is pregnant, no doubt that kid will be able to run. CT was kind enough to offer me a bet for Lane Cove - $20 with him giving me a 20s start. Got something to work towards now.

HuRTS Hickson Road

Woke up feeling very tired again and sore. This will be a 115km week, stepping up from 80km and 15km over the previous 2 weeks so it's probably no surprise. Have got the biathlon on this evening and wanted to stretch the legs a bit so headed down to the HuRTs session on Hickson Road and just ran easily in the second group. Pace was between 3:40 and 3:55 (per/km - 4:15 to 4:25 overall) for each of the reps. Big crowd with J-Fen running from the front but Kanser and Clyde looked very pleased at the end describing in detail how they pulled him in on the final rep.

Have $30 on a head to head with Timmy tonight. He tends to swim 5:00 - 5:15 for the 300m and I'm very consistent on 6:00 with my breastroke, so I reckon I need a minute over the 4km run to be safe. CT and Fast Charlie will no doubt take it out very quick so I'll just try to stick behind them for as long as possible. The tension is mounting.