Easy recovery

Just an easy 13km in the late arvo to Shelley and about.  Legs were buggered to be honest.  4:45's.

Just finished re-watching "Lion" and "La La Land" over the past two nights with Kirst. Both great films for different reasons and I had a lump in my throat watching each. Young Saroo is the star of the first and Emma Stone rose in my estimations for the latter. Great actress.

Tommy: 1 Nolans/Passmore: 0

Thursday and Friday were off sick with this cold bug doing the rounds.  Billy has been diagnosed with whooping cough.

Wanted to go long on Sat due to Mothers Day on Sunday, plus had a chance to get out.  Only problem was I had to keep an eye on Claudia.  So hatched a plan to run around Nolans and Passmore while she was out playing on the fields.  She would high five me every time I ran past.  She kept a pen and paper to log the number of high fives.  131 was the final tally.  13 laps of Passmore and Nolans plus one final loop of Nolans made up the 30km in 2:18 (4:37's).

Hardest thing wasn't the boredom of running the same loop (I actually like running on Nolans, less so Passmore) but the lack of variation in gradient, pace and terrain which results in sore muscles.

Wednesday in Melbourne

Well Tuesday was a write off. Up at 4:30am for the flight to Melbourne then an all day meeting finishing at 8pm put paid to any run, let alone a session.

Woke early on Wednesday morning and, realising it was my only chance and with the Achilles feeling good, I did the Yarra Trail for 16km.  Lovely.  Just can't run at 4:30's at he moment though.  Struggled to get it there.

Monday meander

13km in the late afternoon around the City. Had a shout out from Robin Whiteley. That was about it.  4:47's. Don't seem to be able to run any quicker these days.

Back to 30km

Managed to persuade Benny, Macca, Hamish and the Cap'n to do the lunchtime long run.  Macca is playing injury Wac-a-Mole but did 10km with us, with Hamish and the Cap'n lasting until Addiscombe on the return.  Only Benny did the full 30 with me, with him doing 34km now preparing for GCM after his great PB yesterday.

I struggled over the final 5km but did it with the achilles feeling relatively ok.  4:47's.  Not quick, but enough at the moment.

Alien in my calf:

A significant day in running

It started this am at Curl Curl Parkrun. Forgive my fatherly pride, but Maggie ran a stormer. 3 weeks ago she knocked 90s off her PB to run 23:24.  This morning, she knocked another 90s off to run 21:56. In doing so, she achieved the highest Age/Gender score at Curl Curl this am:

 

I told her to give it a crack with 10 days to go before her school XC and she duly responded.

Then the Sydney 10 results came filtering through. It looked tactical upfront but Barts lived up to his billing as HuRTs #1 with a 32:05, followed by Scotty (who was with him until 8.5km) and Nick in 32:27 and Binfield running a great race to dip under 33.  Toby pipped CT in 33:17 and other great PBs went to Bruce (34:07) and particularly Benny in 34:55.  Sub35 is a special thing.  Timmy claimed my $20 with a 37:15 and gave me something to aim for in my tempo in the afternoon.

Then Kipchoge's sub2 attempt (let's not pretend the other 2 were doing anything but making up the numbers).  It was a much more professional set-up than I'd anticipated and really interesting to watch.  The bloke is amazing.  So smooth with virtually no wasted energy. It's like watching Tucks.  He smashed everyone's expectations in getting with 25s and proving that it's possible.

Then I got out for a run - feeling inspired.  Decided against a hard 5km having watched the marathon so settled on 10km steady tempo.  Tried to keep the pace manageable throughout and that equated to 3:45's.  Felt in control which was good and ended with 37:17 (just outside Timmy's time this am). 

14km all up.

Thursday HuRTs

Over to Rushcutters but a small crowd in light of Saturday's Sydney 10.  And no cones.  Session was the pyramid of 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 laps.  Decided to push it a bit but still incapable of hurting myself.

Quentin and Jake out front with Big Kev a bit in front of me.  Averaged about 3:21's throughout.

Longer cool down for 15km all up.

90km for the week.

Wed MLR

Out with Timmy again but joined this time by young Jack Maxwell and a chap we called Irish Dave.  Young Jack kept the pace a bit more honest so that we averaged 4:43's.  Same route of Centennial loop via Ocean St both ways. 15km.

Some reps

Ok.  Been procrastinating on this one.  Partly worried about the achilles, partly worried about lack of fitness. Finally joined HuRTs for 8 x 1km around Bangers.  Decided to settle on about 3:25 pace. After the first at 3:30 they were all around 3:22 to 3:23.  Variously ran with Jeet, Brendan, Timmy, The Bearded One, Biggsy etc. There's quite a pack at that pace.

Well, for the first time since January I wasn't even thinking of the achilles when running that pace. But then on the 6th rep it started to tighten a little.  Started the 7th rep before my head told me to cut it at that, and live to fight another day.  So stopped after 50m and jogged back to the office.

10km all up.  Achilles good this evening.  Sorry it's boring, but exciting for me.

Dinner tonight at the BFC before Dad and Liz head back to Blighty tomorrow:

 

Monday plod

Started to run home. Decided it was too much on my fragile achilles so did 7km around flat Barangaroo, was last man sprinting on to the ferry then 3km from the wharf home.  10km in 4:57's.  Just what the doctor ordered.

I've decided that success in life is about the quality of your distribution networks.

Longer Sunday

Got out at lunch with Darren and the Captain.  Did the same route as last week but adding to the lagoon and back and a loop of Fairfax.

Achilles surprisingly ok and got into the running after 5km.  Which was handy given that Darren had decided to punish his less fit running companions by pushing the hills.

All up 27km on a beaut of a day in exactly 2 hours (4:27's).

Then up to Narrabeen to ride the BMX next to Maggie as she ran 5km around the lake.  Legs shafted after that.

Saturday test

Was in Port Moresby Thursday and Friday with no chance to run.  Couple of days rest was probably what I needed in any case.

Headed out in the late afternoon to do another 5km tempo test.  3 weeks ago I ran 17:46 (adjusted to 17:39 on Strava) for the 2 lapper of Manly Golf Course starting from the corner of Kenneth and Quirk.  Ben Streck had run a 17:08 PB at Parkrun in the am so ambitiously set that as my target.

Went out hard over the undulating first km and was pleased to see 3:22.  A 3:26 followed and through the first lap in 8:32.  The tough 3rd km was 3:32 then consolidated with a 3:28.  Final km in 3:23 for a 17:11.  Strava seems to knock off 7s on the double loop as it gave me 17:04, finally knocking off Banksy's segment record.  Second loop was 8:39 so was happy not to drop off too much.

35s improvement in 3 weeks.  Next up sub17.

8km warm up and down for 13km all up.  Achilles sore in the evening.  6 hours of flying yesterday and the day before won't have helped.

Port Moresby:

 

MLR with Timmy

Out at lunch for what is becoming a regular MLR with Timmy. Chatted about everything from Rory Delap to Port Moresby and a few sidebars along the way.  15km around Centennial and back in 4:50's.

ANZAC Day

Kicked out of the house with the kids by Kirst, I ventured to the dark side to warn them of the perils of going astray. Venturing from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay, we encountered drug dealers (see pic below - my son pretending to pimp out his sister), latte sippers and beards galore.

Once home I got back to basics with a lovely 17km run around North Head with Charlie (the person, not the Eastern Suburbs drug of choice) and the Cap'n.  4:34's.

 

Monday

Still feeling ok (6 days in a row) and it was a beautiful day so joined HuRTs for 10-11km easy.  Chatted to Biggsy and Jac mainly.  Starting to feel more confident.  So much that I've got a bet with Timmy I'll run sub 2:34 in Berlin.  $50.

Sunday

Still can't run early with the Achilles being too stiff before lunchtime but got out at noon and Angus was keen to run at that time.  Did 25km with an extended route up around North Head. Great to have some company and kick off my first official long run post-injury.

Angus was remarking how I seemed to say hello to everyone in Manly before he stopped to say hello to Tony Abbott at Queensie on the way back.  I didn't.

Not the Novice

Down to Scarborough Park in the early afternoon. Wasn't up to running the Novice 10km but Maggie was doing the Under 12's 2km and Charlie decided to take part too as we travelled down there. Great running by both. They were knackered as they fell over the line. Mags ran a great 8:13 for 15th girl. Hard to tell how she did for her age as she has another 2 years in Under 12's.  Charlie was about 30s back.

Got home and, inspired, I ran loops of Nolan's and Passmore on the grass high-fiving the kids on the basketball court as I ran by. Felt great and as if I was moving properly again.  10km in 4:20's.

Friday with Jerome

Just me and the friendly Frenchman today.  But had a great chat with Jerome all the way round, a nicer bloke you will not meet.

12.5km in 4:34's.

Watched another 3 episodes of Thirteen Reasons Why tonight.  Holy crap it's heavy but gripping stuff.  Although I do wish he'd just listen to the tapes a bit more quickly.

Thursday with HuRTs

Jogged over the Rushcutters with the crowd to find Greta having diligently laid out some cones.  Set the group off on the Quarters session and then proceeded to just run it easy myself at the back.  Longer jog back with Q, Scotty and a new bloke called Jake.

11.5km

Wednesday MLR

Missed Timmy due to the worst meeting of my life. Got out eventually and ran to Centennial Park via Ocean St and, still angry, decided on a white fence tempo to see if I could beat last week's time.

First km - 3:32 (same), second km - 3:37 (2s quicker), third km - 3:34 (6s quicker), final 600m - 2:01 (6s quicker).  So all made up in the back half and that's how it felt too.

Achilles a bit sore after but ok this evening. Have a massage with big David Morgan Smith (who sounds and looks like a rugby player) in the am so will take it easy tomorrow.

Back home Monday

Back home and did a loop of North Head in the afternoon. Bumped into Erika on Manly beachfront and ran with her to Shelley.  Gradually increased the pace the whole way ending with a couple of sub 4's for just over 16km in 4:27's.

Achilles a bit sore after so rested Tuesday.

Easter Sunday

Well yesterday was a monster walk doing the 18km from Bundeena to Garie Beach.  I was shagged at the end (and the achilles a bit sore walking in the 4mm drop Sauconys).  Got home and fell fast asleep on the sofa.  I'm turning into an old man.

Woke up this morning though feeling pretty good and with the achilles feeling good again.  Best thing is it seems to heal a bit every night now.  Did my first 20km'er with the first 5km very slow with Maggie, then hitting some hills which kept the pace slow and finally opening up a bit in the final 7 or 8km.  Great to get through this run.  Has been an awesome weekend down here in the Royal National Park.

Red belly black snake:

Good Friday

Staying down in Bundeena and doing the Coastal Walk over 2 days.  Shorter day today doing Otford to Garie Beach.  Just stunning on a beautiful day.  With the whole family and Dad and Liz.  Everyone loved it, with Claudia walking the whole way.  Couple of photos below.

Got back fairly fatigued but got out for an hour around Bundeena in the early evening.  13km feeling pretty good after a great massage yesterday.

70km for the week!

Another Timmy MLR

As per last week, but a bit longer this time circling the park and retracing our steps from the top of Ocean Street.  Plus we added a Mini Timmy Tempo (his request) around the white fence.  15km in 4:42's.

Nice chat, couldn't get "House of Fun" out of my head after Timmy told me he was going to see a Madness concert.  Good to get another MLR in the legs. In fact they're feeling nicely fatigued right now. Might rest tomorrow and run Friday.

White Fence Tempo

Missed HuRTs due to meetings but probably a good thing as I'm nowhere near fit enough to join them yet.  Plan at the moment is just to get some miles in and gradually increase the pace of doing them.  Natural pace is currently 4:40's.  So to get it down I threw in a tempo of the white fence at Centennial yesterday.  Hurt a bit into the wind in the second half as the splits showed (3:32, 3:39, 3:40).  But did the trick with 4:26's all up for the 15km.

Up early this morning for Maggie's session.  She hates the 500's but they're good for her.  2:04, 2:01, 1:55 and 1:59 this morning.  She's pumped to be running for Rejoov at Scarborough Park a week Saturday.

Furthest yet

Well, the achilles was a bit sore, but I've discovered that if I stop every 20mins and stretch the legs then it all seems to hold together ok.  So today I pushed out to 16km.  Would have gone further but ran out of time.  4:41's.

3 youngest on a walk with Kirst this am:

 

Saturday test

Decided to test myself yesterday so did a 3km warm up then two loops of Manly Golf Course (5km).  Decided 18mins was the target - 3:36's.  Well, it was horrible.  Felt like I was carrying 15kg on my back, it's the only way to describe the breathing and leg weakness of being out of form.

Pushed on through and the one saving grace was that the pace was relatively consistent - 3:32, 3:32, 3:38, 3:33, 3:31.  Strava got 17:39 for the 2 looper from corner of Quirk/Kenneth - missed Banksy's record by 5s!

3km warm down for 11km all up. Achilles a bit sore this morning but hopefully ok for a run this arvo.

Huge congrats to Benny (78:50) and Darren (2:50:00) down in Canberra. Awesome times on a tough course. The boys are in form.

Big news today was Mags finally nailed her no-handed cartwheel:

Commute

A month ago we had "National Walk to Work" day and I remember thinking how far away I was from being able to commute in by running.  Yesterday, managed to do that. Had a lunch on so knew it was the morning or never.  Contemplated a run around Manly but decided to try running in with the ability to catch a bus of it got too tough.

Had left my Brooks' at work so it was back to the Mizunos.  Noticed that:

(a) they are much lighter; and

(b) my OP aches returned as soon as I wore them.

But the achilles was ok despite all the hills.  Top of every hill I'd stretch the legs which made a big difference.

1:09:32.  Massive confidence booster.

55km for the week.

Wednesday MLR

Just me and Timmy for a late start loop of Centennial via Ocean Street.  Plenty of banter passed the time quickly.  Achilles a bit sore to be honest, but feels immediately better after I stop and stretch.  It's the tight legs that are pulling on it.

12.5km in 4:50's.

Timmy's tempo (but not hills)

Well, after a blazing argument with Barts we settled on the Domain hills and tempo with me running laps of the Domain car park before the tempo took off.  Took the laps very easy and the tempo more seriously (running with Jeet) and in the end an enjoyable session.

3:56's for the tempo.

Boozy night at the ISDA dinner in O Bar and Grill. Beautiful views of this amazing city. Should come back to this place more often.

Feel like I'm running more normally again rather than like a cripple.

Weekend roundup

The Saturday:  8km to Shelley and back. Decided to push the pace on the way back and run a couple of sub4's.  Lost so much fitness that that spiked my heart rate to 182 and had me breathing hard.  Achilles felt much better for it though. It prefers running fast than slow.  4:19's.

Then followed a huge night at the Harbord Hilton, Shandar Tandoori and Stowaway.  Huge crowd of Manly runners plus some ring-ins from the Inner West.  Great fun.

Sunday:  Achilles felt good enough to go for the trifecta. 10km in 4:34's.  First run that has felt effortless. 

Some photos from last night:

Finally, spent a lot of time with Claudie today and had to post her work list:

An hour

Well, despite Wednesday's new found enthusiasm, I failed to get out yesterday as it was just too wet and windy.  Checked in today with poor Mikey Conway (not many people have ever called him that) but fortunately he lives up high and has avoided the flooding.

Today with the achilles feeling ever better I got our for 13km in just over an hour (4:47's), coincidentally meeting Barts just as we were both about to set off.  Had a good yarn with him for 40mins then upped the pace a bit when he headed back to the office (tapering for Lane Cove 10km tomorrow).  Another run done in one piece.

Nice response Sammy.  Good to have some intelligent banter on these pages rather than the drivel you find on rival blogs.  Come home soon mate.  Big Manly Hardcore Curry Night planned for tomorrow starting in the Harbord Hilton, you would love it.

Starting up again

So, I'm going to start posting more regularly in the hope of kick-starting a more regular training regime. 

The achilles is sore for 24 hours after each run but I'm able to progressively run further and faster each time before it affects my form.  I think it's at the stage where running is not detrimental to it but just needs to be managed.  I'm doing 120 eccentric loading heel drops per day and more rolling out than Macca on a Sunday morning.  

Yesterday was 10km in 45mins.  Had to work hard to maintain 4:30's, such has been my drop off in form.  I've put on a load of weight but not bothered by that. Just want to run free again.

News of the day was Britain's formal invocation of Article 50 to trigger Brexit.  To be honest, I don't know enough about the economic fundamentals to have a real feel on the sensibility of the decision.  It feels wrong and I was sympathetic to a Labour politician on ABC24 asking people to remember what Britain was like economically before 1973 when they joined.  But then Britain wasn't much better in the late 70's in the era of national strikes, high inflation and the 3 day week.

So you have to do a straw poll. In 5 years time, will:

(a) the pound be stronger against the Euro than it is now?

(b) the FTSE have risen by a greater percentage than the DAX?

I'll guess no to both.

Update

Well, it's a whole month later.  Maggie's training continues to go well.  We did the 2 x Passmore reps again this morning (coincidentally after last post) and she ran 2:28 (3:47 pace) then 2:31 (3:52 pace).  Getting stronger by the week.  She has inherited her Mum's Garmin FR 25 and is becoming obsessed with it.  A true runner in the making.  Followed by 6 x 60m sprints.

I've been trying everything with the achilles but became pretty depressed after having a whole fortnight off running (which included a trip to New York where I couldn't have fit it in anyway) but came back with the achilles more sore than before.  It has still been sore just to walk.  So on Monday I decided to try everything.  Been doing a lot more on the plantar with a cricket ball which provides a lot of relief, increased the heel drops to 120 per day but, more importantly, booked an appointment with Dr Isaacs in North Sydney (on Ben Streck's recommendation) who specialises in laser therapy and dry needling.

Well, I don't know about the laser therapy but he did dry needling all the way from my mid-back to my heel and every section produced a huge release spasm from the relevant muscle.  I walked out of the room high-kicking like John Cleese and virtually pain free.

Have also invested in a new pair of trainers (Brooks Transcend 4) and in-soles.  Did my longest run in 2 months today - 10km with Pete, Bruce and Brendan.  Only marginal pain from the achilles which, for the first time, eased as the run went on.

Further update

Still sore to walk.  Getting better each day though.  Hope to jog on grass by the weekend.

Maggie training this morning.  1.3km warm up and down.  2 x Passmore Oval reps in 2:32 and 2:38.  She was upset not to get the second under 2:36 (4min kms), but going well.

Update

Wednesday was 12km around Centennial with Brendan, Ray, Andy and Mark B.  Achilles sore the whole way.

Thursday did Maggie's session in the morning: 3 x 500m on the Nolans path (so it's accurate). She ran much quicker than I expected doing 1:52, 1:53 and 1:56.  At the same age Billy and Bec would run low 2:00's.  That was it for the day for me.

Friday was 9km to Redleaf with Barts enjoying a dip with the wealthy Eastern suburbs socialites.

Saturday did Parkrun with Mags but ran around in about 4min kms with Elle.  Nice to see Robbie turn up for the win.  Achilles was really sore after though and only did 6km without even pushing.  Going to have to rest it for a while and stray from scratch.  Pretty depressing.

Still sore Tuesday

Started to run home after work. Achilles sore (down the sides of heel, not the bursar which is no longer swollen due to the Voltaren) and wasn't getting any less painful so pulled the pin in Cremorne and caught the 179 to Balgowlah Fish Cafe for dinner with Mrs H.

This may take a while.

Did 5km mind. Not very quickly.

Sore Sunday

Leg numb from the V but promised Maggie a run so did two loops of Nolans/Passmore with her in the heat of the arvo.  She's starting to look very comfortable jogging 5km.

 

SunRun

Easy jog to the start with Darren, Erika and Dicky.  Felt tentative the whole way worrying about my achilles which had been sore since Tuesday night and which I was hiding with Voltaren.  Decided to race in my Wave Rider 20's as I was too worried about putting more pressure on it wearing flats.

Good field in the end with a couple of top triathletes, Vlad (looking very fit), Ben Liddy, Sean Bowes, Barts, Scotty, Rowan Walker, James Tunbridge, Alex R and others all toeing the line.  Took it steadyish up the monster hill off the start line with Barts, Scotty, Toby and Alex just in front then opened up back down the hill.  3:27 first km including the monster climb but by now my achilles was already hurting.  Then Rowan Walker went to the front of the second group and started pushing the pace (3:12 next km) and I was falling off the back and not running freely.  Sean Bowes came past, the achilles got worse so I pulled the pin at 3km.

There was a big gap until Gary Mullins, Dicky and Darren came past while I was walking.  Then Erika came by with 3 girls (Bec Lowe and 2 I didn't recognise) and I shouted out to her that she was in the lead before she disappeared off. Hell, Erika's winning the SunRun!  I'm still tossing up whether to just walk home but decide it's un-Australian, plus Dad will be waiting at Queenscliff, so start running. See the girls 100m ahead so decide to try and catch Erika to help her up the killer hill by the Harbord Hilton.  If she's going to win this, she'll do it using her strength on the hills. 

Well, outside my old house on Charles St in Freshie (about 6.5km) there was about 30m separating the first 4 girls.  By 8km Erika has a 150m lead.

Buggered my achilles further in finishing off the run (38:42 for the record).  Hobble home to discover Dad is in hospital with a dislocated shoulder after taking a tumble while coming to watch me and Scotty is in the bed opposite him having collapsed at the Novotel.

What a day.

Bought some more Voltaren.