Wednesday MLR

Left calf still super stiff but ok enough to head out for 77mins this morning (nice and slow for only 16km) with Q, Lewis, Dicky and the Cap'n.  A beautiful morning and great company. 

Tuesday

Holy moley.  Left calf feels like a rock.  If only my vice were the same.  Managed 10km with the squad, 90% of whom jogged for 45mins too.  No idea what the other 10% had ideas of.

Photo at 5km of the C2S.  Tunbridge and Davy followed me the whole race before schooling me in the final km.  I had no idea that Quentin was right in the group at that stage (I assumed it was Barts).  The fella is the fiercest competitor I know.

City to Surf - 14th in 45:28

So the big dance came around again.  Got the ferry in with the Manly crowd but I wasn't much company - too nervous and focussing on the race.  Jogged up to the new Elite area with Q (a nice new addition, particularly the easier bag drop).  A few hellos, bit of a jog and some run throughs with Q and we're lining up.  One of the issues with such a big race is how long you have to stand around waiting for the start - about 20mins in this case.  I didn't really have a race plan other than to go out hard and push the pace early.  I knew that if I was going to beat Barts I'd have to have a lead on him with a km to go as he always finishes so strongly.

So I did.  Saw Kevin Robertson ahead going down William St so I knew I wasn't totally out of control.  Passed him before the tunnel and could see the leaders (other than Harry Summers who went off at a crazy pace) not far ahead so it was quick.  Tried to work the Edgecliff Hill and stride out back down to Double Bay.  Someone shouted out 3km in 9:30 which sounded right.  Then through Rose Bay and Phil Dove is on the road screaming in his booming voice.  He says I'm 15th but can feel I'm dragging a group of 4 or 5 behind me.  I assume Barts is at the back of it as I thought I heard Phil shout at his name shortly after mine.

Then Heartbreak Hill starts.  I've done a load of hills recently so felt confident of attacking it.  Surprised at how quickly some of the runners ahead start to come back.  Towards the top I see Vlad ahead so concentrate on catching him and do so just before 8km.  He responds so just sit in behind him and relax for a bit before pushing again at the roundabout.  This is always a major landmark for me as I feel when you turn right here that you're heading for home at Bondi.  I've still got 3 or 4 runners hanging on but see Keith Mc ahead so concentrate on catching him.  Do so on the 2 nasty hills before 10km but he definitely does respond.  Then comes the huge long straight before the hill down to North Bondi.  I'm now hanging on and saying "just one more km".  Keith gives some encouragement before turning on the gas down the hill.  I just can't match that but am still with the group.  We hit North Bondi and the new finish but it still involves that nasty drag with a km to go and my legs are now cactus and I'm in serious "hanging on" mode.  But the hairpin comes, I have a quick look behind and can't see Barts anywhere.  Woo-hoo!!  So I practice my 2-0 finger salute and cross the line looking like a nutter but ecstatic.  Have to avoid Keith Mc barfing on all fours (I think only Enda knows how to kill himself more) and turn to see Nick, then Q, CT and Hoey coming over the line.  But where is Barts?  Someone says something about stomach cramps which is really disappointing for him on such a big race.

Then followed an emotional call to Kirst, and many beers in the sun chatting to the extended HuRTS family.  Times seemed a little slower this year (not sure why as I thought conditions were fine) but great runs by Bruce (49:30), Q (who never disappoints when the big races come around), Toby in 48:24, Macca in 49:01 and Elle in 55:31.  Notice how they're all from NOTB?

Love this race.  Love the atmosphere and the fact everyone shows up.  And it tests every aspect of running - speed for the first 5km, hill strength, endurance plus you have to be able to run downhills well.  

Many beers followed.  Here are some photos:

Me and Bruce:

Timmy:

The stayers:

More stayers:

Thursday keeping the legs interested

Easy 10km with a 15min Fartlek thrown in (8 x 1min in, 1min off).  Solo and around the Bot Gardens.  

Summer pumped now.

Melbourne Wed

Very easy 9km at lunch with a few hills thrown in.  Getting pumped.

Melbourne last effort

5 days to go and a final effort.  Up at 5am and in meetings all day but sneaked out at 6.30pm for a session around the Tan.  Almost gave up on it but pleased not to.

Easy jog out then changed into the flats for 5 x 3mins hard, 1min easy, 1min hard off 90s jog recovery.  Struggled slightly in the wind and dark but ended up with a rock solid session averaging 3:29 pace (7km covered) throughout despite the hills and float rests.  Sunday will be very interesting.  I reckon I'll either go great or shit.

Even managed a Tan Strava segment top 10 which must be rare given the numbers who run it:

Easy

10km easy with 4 x hills thrown in towards the end.  Flutes working well.  Nice shout from Keith Bateman on the Domain who I haven't seen in yonks.

BTW, did anyone hear anything from Neil about me deliberately omitting him from any mention yesterday?

Post Gastro

Well, got a bit of gastro late Friday.  Tried a run late Saturday and lasted 500m before giving up.  Most frustrating thing was that I was at Wolgan Valley and couldn't take advantage of the free food and booze.  

Got back home this afternoon and, feeling better, headed out for 90mins.  Felt magic after the first km, no doubt from effectively 3 days rest.  Did the Manly Dam route going home via Eastern Hill in Manly for 21.6km in 4:07's.  Passed Asian Dave in Balgowlah.  

Excited about next Sunday.  Everyone appears to be running really well - particularly Barts, Scotty, Robin and Nick Roberts.  But you can never discount CT, Quentin and Lewis.  Very difficult race to predict.

In them there mount'ns

AM:  30mins in Wentworth Falls.  Two observations.  First, it's very hilly and very traily.  I managed 4.5km in my 30mins.  Second, when in the bush, I feel the need to crap.  I'm like a bear.  A search for broad leaved bushes ensued this morning.

PM:  Feeling as though this morning didn't count, headed out at dusk in Wolgan Valley for 6km.  Got scared when a boulder started barrelling towards me, turned out to be a wombat.  Kirst reminded me of the time Warrior Charlie saved Claudia in a similar situation when camping with him in Kangaroo Valley.   

Gradually feeling better post-fever with gastro issues being the underlying problem.  Even managed 22 straight push-ups this evening!

Wednesday farked

Got up and ran to work in the freezing rain and wind.  17.5km via Manly beach. Felt shit the whole way and think I pushed myself over the edge.  Started coming down with a fever in the afternoon and was tucked up in bed with no desire for dinner by 8pm.

Fortunately, Gary had a very easy Thursday and Friday on the program - perhaps he predicted this - although he couldn't have predicted the Tuesday and Wednesday weather.

Didn't even manage my 22 push ups.  But now away with Kirst in the mountains  for the weekend for a bit of R&R.  Hopefully recover quickly for C2S which I'm pumped about.

Fun in the rain

AM:  6km very easy

PM:  Jogged to ES Marks after work.  It was pissing down.  And cold.  Wore 2 t-shirts, my milk tray thermal and a hoodie.

Turned up to find an almost deserted track but a full strength Runcrew which says a lot about the squad.  Matt, Keith, Gerald, Alex, Neil and Vlad all there.  Session was 2km + 10x400m + 2km.  Rain was so heavy it was a joke and Gary sensibly had us jogging between every rep to keep warm.  1 lap jog between each set and 200m jog between the 400's.

Stuffed up my watch on the first 2km but I'd guess 6:15.  Then every 400m rep was around 72s (with Neil going particularly well) then finished off with a 6:18 with only Matt in front which was nice.

Token warm down for 14km all up.

14 + 8 push ups tonight. Yay!

BrisVegas

Just 10km squeezed in during a late lunch hour on the Botanical Gardens/river route.  4:30's but it felt quicker.  Must be tired.

Copping a bit of grief from Charlie and Barts on my 22 push up challenge and only managing 10 in one go.  Plainly I need to do more homo-erotic muscle beach action that Charlie is partial to.  I'll aim for 11 tonight...

22 day push-up challenge

Just squeezed in 17km today up Allambie and back via Manly.  Was running along Sydney Road when some mad motorist came down a side lane and almost ran me over.  I was about to give the fool a serve when he wound his window down and it was Macca.  Plainly Timmy is paying him to try and take me out of City to Surf due to him getting cold feet on the 5mins he offered me.

4:29's today feeling much better than yesterday after an evening of pizza and hot dogs.

Have started the 22day push-up challenge today (raising awareness for the 22 ex-servicemen in the US who take their lives EVERY day as a result of PTSD - far outstripping the number who die in combat).  Holy crap.  I managed 10 + 8 + 4 with a healthy minute between each set.  Will see if that improves...

Saturday long run

The Manly Hardcore wanted to run long on Saturday and Barts was calling for a fast finish. Great turn out with Barts, Macca, Craig, Vonky, CT, Scotty, Ray, Toby, Ben and myself all in.  I tentatively planned to join them in upping the pace but decided early on I wasn't up for it.

Dragged my ass home with Ben feeling sorry for myself and wondering why I was feeling that way.  It's been a 113km week with lots of hills but didn't really explain feeling so flat.  Later realised I'd had no carbs the day before.  Grilled chicken and salad in the evening, a quiche at lunch and Mafia Eggs from Belgrave Cartel in the morning.  I'm pretty sensitive to nutrition these days and sure that didn't help.  Need a good Spag Bol before a long run.

Ended up with 29.2km averaging 4:26's.

Friday

8-9km jog around the city.  Much better at end than beginning.  

Thursday HuRTS

Just watched the Obama speech at the DNC.  If he is not the best public speaker of all time then I don't know who is.  Spine tingling stuff.

Did a 5km warm up then met the HuRT Squad at the Park Hyatt and changed into my flats.  No Barts, Q, CT, Hoey, Nicky R or Crossy so I was solo up front today.  Decided to give it a crack in any case.  We split into 2 groups and ran off a rolling 8:30.  My rep times were:

6:13, 6:11, 6:14, 6:12

Nice and consistent but felt very bouncy and good on the first 2 reps but, to be honest, my legs started to feel dead half way through rep 3 so it was a case of just concentrating on form and turning them over.

5km warm down with Andy for 18kmmall up.

All the talk is on Timmy's form and his new found hill-climbing ability.  And now he's in the red centre running a marathon.  What the hell is going on?!

Hilly MLR

A run to work, wanted to do 20km so planned on a loop around Manly Dam before heading in.  Thought Allambie Rd would make it too far so decided on running past Gleeso's house, Manly Vale School, the Manly Dam trail up to Seaforth Oval and then in. 

However, got to Balgowlah RSL and realised I was going to be too short so decided on a "short loop" around Clontarf to make up the distance.  This short loop turned out to be the hardest 3km of the run.  Clontarf is the hilliest suburb out there.  It's also huge.  Plainly there are more wankers North of the Spit Bridge than I had thought.

Got tired near the Harbour Bridge but held on for 21+km averaging 4:29's.

I'm a big fan of the mid-week 20, 20, 20 if the body can stomach it.

All went wrong Tuesday

First missed morning run so did 10km at lunch with Hoey.

Then, missed ES Marks in the evening due to work commitments so sneaked out at 7.30pm for a loop of the city including 4 x Pottinger hills to the HofW then 3 x Argyle/Observatory Hills.  The latter were much harder.

11km all up.

So bitsy training but got some kms in.

Monday

Home. Felt very bouncy. Quick hello to Matt running the opposite direction on the coat hanger.  Attacked the hills and took Banksy's Strava segment up Spit Hill.  Didn't realise it starts at the South end of Spit Bridge though so there's more in it.  He'll be aiming to take it back later this week...

15.2km in 4:20's.

Sunday

Hilly 29km solo after missing the lads due to Maggsies soccer.  Felt good and went quite well (4:24's) which wasn't bad considering the 380m of elevation.

Friday plod

Hungover 11km with Big Jim.  A question of just getting through it.

12 x 500m

Pitch black, pissing rain. What the hell am I doing heading out for a warm-up at 5:50am?  Did 4km knowing I had to get a bit of blood flow in the legs before attempting 500m reps.  

Wasn't surprised to see the dedicated Lewis waiting to start but was to see Ben and Charlie lining up in the conditions.  Off we went with me just trying to hold on to Lewis.  I think the 500m marked out was a bit long (perhaps 3s) but we just ran the same consistent length.  Agreed with Lewis that we would each lead alternate reps which I find is a much easier way to get through them - you can turn off while you're following and just be dragged through.  Seems as though I nominated him to lead the reps into the wind though!

All reps 1:33-1:34 with the last at 1:28.  Solid session.  Legs comfortably numb now.

5km warm down (bumping into Macca) for 16km all up.

Wednesday miserable MLR

Pissing with rain.  The beautiful weather on our return has come to an immediate halt.  Up (jet-lagged) at 5am again so decided just to get it over and done with and meet the Manly crowd.  But where the bloody hell were they?  No Cap'n or Lewis.  Fortunately bumped into Q on Manly beach so ran and chatted with him.

16.1km including 4 Oliver St hills.  Dead slow - I was knackered from last night. Achilles fine but OP giving me a bit of gyp.

Tuesday double

AM:  9km easy with Justin and Jamie along the beach and around the golf course.  

PM:  Jogged to ES Marks after work.  4km hard in 12:24.  Just sat behind Alex R for the first 7 laps until Gary shouted to go ahead.  Then started catching Keith Mc on the final lap finishing just behind.  Felt pretty good.  

Then a bit of a rest before 200m fast, 200m jog x 6.  I may be able to hold on for 4km but I'm woeful at sprinting, being about 10-15m behind Alex, the McPhersons and Matt for each rep.  Basically my 200m reps are run at the same pace as my 4km rep.  I think only Neil P has a worse conversion.

13km all up.

Back in Syd

Easy 10km around the City solo flushing out the jet-lagged legs.  Nice to be back and a lovely day.

Final day

Head back this arvo so set off at 7am for a long run.  Much more pleasant this morning only at 29C.  Headed straight down the Pinellas Trail for 13.5km then returned.  Felt great this morning and ended up averaging 4:13's.  Finally seem to have acclimatised.

Must say the Yanks are really friendly.  3 of them stopped to talk to me this morning - 2 on bikes and 1 at a water stop.  One of them passed on a bike and shouted out "wow, you must be running at 6:30 pace!" and sure enough I'd just done a 4:03 km (6:31 mile) so he knew his stuff.

Headed out after the run to an old-school diner for brekkie where I had the "Country Skillet" which consisted of loads of stuff covered in sausage gravy (essentially lard with sausage bits in it).  Couldn't think of a better long-run recovery meal.

Florida has been much better than I expected.

Weeki Wachi

Out early to Weeki Wachi Springs Park so no early run.  Awesome place.  Old school American place.  Basically a deep water spring in Florida so deep pools with cold water (massive relief from the warm sea).  But the Yanks of course add a few slides and an underwater mermaid show.  

Loved it.

Got back and headed out at 5pm when it was still 33C.  Despite that I felt like adding some speed which I've been neglecting.  Did 2km hard (6:38) then 1km hard (3:07) during the 10.5km which ended up averaging 4:05.  Felt good today.

No speed

Just the usual route - 13km this morning in 4:32's.  Did some strides towards the end.  Then to Busch Gardens which were brilliant - best roller coasters in the world.

Attempt at some speed

Out in the am again (only time it is feasible to run - too hot any later and I've cracked open my first holiday beer by 4.30pm each afternoon in any case).

Decided I needed to try some speed this morning.  Kept on delaying when I would actually try it.  Got to 7km on the Pinellas Trail, turned for home and decided to run back quicker.  Did 5kms under 4min km pace then almost expired with heat exhaustion.  

All up 14km in 4:14's.

Tuesday - Pinellas Trail

Why didn't I find this earlier?  A disused railway line turned into a bike/running trail that runs for 33miles from Tarpon Springs to St Petersburg.  I did 10km in 4:34's.  Slowly acclimatising.

Monday

27.3km in the hottest conditions I've run in.  It was just an exercise of body temperature control - running easy enough so as not to overheat but not so slow that I was out in the heat too long.

First water at 19km, dip in the ocean at 22km (felt like a bath - we're spoiled in Sydney) and dragged my ass home over last 3km.  4:43's.

More treadmill crap

Saturday:  14km odd on the treadmill averaging 4:12's.  Always run too fast on the treadmill.  Just get bored and keep on trying to up the pace.  Ends up as grey running.

Sunday:  Could only survive 12km this morning before dying of boredom.  4:14's.  This sort of running doesn't suit my achilles.

Me and my dream car:

Diagon Alley was awesome:

Me and my dream van:

Hogsmeade:

Thursday

13km in Tarpon Springs in the am feeling crap.  Legs stiff and sore, dehydrated in the 95F heat.  Need to drink more and roll out.

Farewell NYC

Last run and back into Central Park (just too handy).  

Did 2.5 loops in the scheduled 1hr 45mins.  In the first km I had a bloke run past while training a girl he was trying too hard to impress.  They gained 20m so being a competitive twat I didn't let them get further ahead and then ran past on the big hill at the Harlem end.  This meant I was running 4:12's, which was a bit silly.  It was very warm (20+C at 6am).  

Continued on for 24.4km getting more and more tired and dehydrated.  Need some good sleep as I'm still slightly jet-lagged.

Kids in hotel room:

Maggie top of the Rock:

Bogan Mags buying a hot dog on the streets of NY at 10pm:

Tuesday same but different

Another shocking night's sleep but, due to the power of social media, I had arranged to meet TB at the Apple Store on the corner of Central Park at 6am.  But wet overnight so more humid this morning.  Great chat to Terence while running 13.2km around the Park nice and easy.

Top of the Rock:

Independence Day

Woke up after a fitfull jet-lagged sleep and did 13.8km around Central Park on a beautiful (Northern Hemisphere) summer's day.  Meaning it was green, lush and cool but warming up.  God I miss home sometimes.

Gold Coast 10km - 21st in 31:35

Well, everything went to plan for once.  Arrived last night (being put up, very kindly, by Jeet and Birchy in a fantastic ocean view apartment in Main Beach), got some food and an early night's sleep.  

Had been feeling great in training over the past 2 weeks and woke up feeling good again.  Achilles has been no concern and all the rolling out has done wonders to how I feel in the early am.  Jogged to the start, got intimidated in the (very plush) elite area seeing Australia's two greatest distant runners milling about (Mona and Benita Willis).  Got to the start area and only mistake was not to jump onto the start line straightaway.  Found myself 4 rows back.  But told myself it was a good thing as I'd be able to accelerate into the race.

I didn't wear a watch.  I told myself I was in good form and would either be scared by the pace of the splits or would stress they weren't quick enough.  So ran on feel just trying to hold on to packs of runners for as long as possible.  Chadi was leading a big group early on so tagged on the back of that.  A smaller group started to pull ahead so tagged in to them until 5km.  Knew things were going well when, looking for the 4km mark, I suddenly saw the 5km mark.  That's a free km in the bank!  Clock said 15:32 as I passed but I was falling off the group of 5.  But, like Gold Coast resident Big Kev before me, I was excited.

Best thing about this race is the strength and depth of field.  As soon as I dropped off I had runners catching and coming past me.  John Dutton came past at 5km and I got a km out of him. So I just jumped on the back of each one to drag me through just one more km (as I told myself).  Massive shout from Coach Gary at 8km which was a great lift and I was closing in on John again.  

The long straight before the final finish tunnel seemed to last forever (but at least not as bad as last year's marathon and I probably covered it in half the time), then I turn and hear the announcer saying something like "Jacob Cocks in 30:40" - does that mean he's sat down eating a b&e roll or has he just finished?!  I turn the corner and see 31:10 on the clock.  Fuck yeah!!  Sprint for the line and do some mad fist pumps and crazy arms aloft.  I think my fellow competitors are a bit bemused.  But I don't care.

So stoked.  Biggest jump in my PB ever. Thanks so much to Coach Gary.  And thanks so much to Birchy and Jeet for the hospitality and brekkie.  A perfect start to my holidays.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow in the Full and Half.  It's perfect up here.

Friday jog

25mins early doors along the beach with a few strides.

Thursday

Started the day by meeting Eljay and Elle for coffee to talk racing tactics for the weekend.  Eljay very kindly said that I was impressively erect.  She claimed to be talking about my running style but I'm not so sure.

At lunch joined the squad at Rushcutters but did 5min tempo followed by 4 x 30s before jogging back with Timmy.

Taper Wed

Very easy 7km bumping into Andy at the Opera House and finishing with a few hills.

Getting pumped about Saturday morning now..

ES Marks Runcrew

4km warm up in the inside of the track with Matt, Keith, Keith's brother Gerald, Hamish, Biggsy and Neil.  Then 3 x broken 1 miles as per 3 weeks ago - that is 1km hard, 300m jog, 300m hard with 4mins between each set.

Wore the flats this time with the achilles feeling stronger every day.  

Times went:

2:55, 51

2:52, 51

2:51, 52

Very happy and felt great.  As Gary pointed out, reps 2 and 3 are at a pace faster than my 1500m PB.

3km warm down for 12km all up.

Monday morning

1. Really enjoying the Manly Dam runs at the moment and hills.

2. Achilles feels better than ever.

So did another run up past Manly Vale Public School and back down the creek this am before adding the 4 x 80m hills up Suwarrow.  Felt great this morning.

Sunday

Too knackered to get out with the boys at 6am after having to stay up to pick up Bec.  Got out later and did another circular Manly Dam route, this time tackling the Northern Beaches longest hill - Warringah Rd up to Beacon Hill.  Quite tired at the end of 20km. 

Saturday hills

Missed Parkrun so ran hard up a hill instead.  Allambie Hill.  Then back around the dam for 13.5km all up.  Nice route.

Hurts Rushcutters

Over to Rushcutters but no Timmy cones.  And to be honest we were lost without them.  Come back Timmy, all is forgiven.  Some makeshift shirts were laid which moved after the first rep.  But anyway, session was 8 x 400m off 2:30, 3 min jog then 8 x 200m off 1:30.

Trailed Barts for the first four 400's then kicked into action and started pushing him a bit.  All were 65/66 on the watch but 67/68 pace in truth.  Then on the 200's I called for a different volunteer to pace each rep which made it interesting and distracted from getting through the set.  Averaged 30's on those (prob 31's in truth.

5km warm down for 13km all up.

Morning MLR

16km around Manly with Lewis and the Cap'n.  Sore after last night.  4:36's.

(Missed Monday)

Can't fail to put this down as it continues quite a good running streak....

14km with Enda, Timmy, Hoey and Co around the wharves to Barangaroo.

RunCrew Tuesday

AM:  7.5km around and about to the ferry wharf in 4:38's.

PM:  4.5km warm up.  2km TT in 5:56 pacing off Hamish and Keith.  Followed by 10 x 300m in 49, 50, 49, 48, 49, 49, 48, 48, 48, 48 (rolling 2mins).  Felt great tonight in the flats.  3km warm down.

Good to see Enda, Christian, LJ and Greta supporting Eloise in what looked like a monster session.

Picking up the car

Out with Kirst last night to a charity function at Balgowlah RSL. Both drank way too much so taxi'd it home, hence the run this afternoon.  Went via Allambie Hill and hit some serious puddles on the trail next to Wakehurst Parkway.

12km, feeling surprisingly good.

Claudie this morning watching Maggie's soccer:

Saturday long

Out early doors with Barts, Scott and Robin V for the usual route but with Barts keen on a fast finish. In fact, he was keen on a quickish start too.  I wasn't.  But just put my head down and ran.  Tired after yesterday's race.  When the boys picked up the pace I was hanging on. Did so for 4km then fell off at Dee Why and jogged home.

Bit of a GPS fail in not restarting my watch after a stop but I think it was 29km in 4:21's.

Mags and Charlie in Parkrun this morning.  New PB for Mags, good news before her Regional XC in Gosford on Friday: