long sweat

So last night was the Manly Hardcore Mexican night and my liver is now past it. Somehow dragged myself around 28km (and not a flat 28km) with the Cap’n in the late afternoon in 4:42’s. 

Clean as a whistle from now on.

Centennial

Friday was a rest day and the Super Series lunch where CT, Q, Scotty and I treated Barts to a top notch lunch at Bathers Pavilion.  The evening ended with the new tradition of ping pong where CT schooled us.

So Saturday in the heat and humidity was always going to be a struggle. Did the same 8km tempo with Timmy and Birchy as a fortnight ago.  40s slower in 30:13 this time, but 3:35’s were feeling fine. It was just the other factors that got me.

13.5km all up.

Thursday with Tucks

All time #2 is back in town so the session was dedicated to him. It was stinking hot so we did a shortened session at Rushcutters - 4 x 800m (2mins) plus 4 x 200m.

Times went 2:33, 2:32, 2:32 and 2:31.  Was just behind Tucks (Timmy remarked I was in his pocket once again) and Andy with Q a bit in front.  Then on to the 200’s with a different person leading each one out.  Brendan, Timmy, Q and Tucks did the honours each rising to the occasion.

Beers with Tucks in the evening.  The 5 day Christmas bender continues.

Another double

First up a commute on the bike with Dave Chapel but adding the standard Mosman hills. Beaut of a morning and a good way to add some efforts.  Caught Macca red handed emerging from the beach at Balmoral.  

Then at lunch the legs were a bit cactus but dragged myself out for a jog to Redleaf, dip in the pool and a jog back.  Talked all things Triathlon with Pete W and TKS, Mr Raisins and new bloke Vince also joined in the best lunch break you can take (bar the longer trip to Bondi).  12.5km all up.

Tuesday rooted

Up at 5:15am to ride with the Peloton up to Church Point and back hugging the beaches.  Nine of us this morning and with Toby, Dave, Smitty and Martin all ready to hammer it the pace was on from quite early.  I jumped on the back of the Manly Warringah train and, boy do they fly.  We were doing 46/47kmh from Long Reef on wards.  Dropped off the back towards Narrabeen and then did quite a bit of the work with Toby from there to Church Pt.  Got jelly legs on the final hill and lost them, only to almost regain contact right at the end.  Great ride and good to be back in it again. 

Then got home and ran into work.  Legs feeling pretty good (and achilles is better than ever) but towards the end I started to struggle in the heat.  Got to work and slumped over my desk for the next two hours having hoovered down a b&e roll.  66:25 for the run to work so better than recently despite struggling.

Monday meander

Was feeling knackered after the weekend so headed out in the late afternoon and found a couple of ovals to run around, mainly good old Reg Bartley.  Don't think I got one of the 10 km splits under 5:00 again.  This is becoming a habit.

Sunday happy

With the achilles feeling better and better - first time it’s felt good post a long run - I ventured out to do my favourite hilly loop around the dam. Just under the hour for the 13.35km (4:28’s).  Starting to feel like a runner again.

Will have to Strava Segment this loop.

Berry long run

Down in Berry for the Fairgrounds music festival for the weekend. Woke up in a tent on Saturday morning having had my best nights sleep in yonks. Nothing starting up until noon so got permission to do a long run in the morning. Did two 13km loops of a route going up Agar’s lane south of Berry and it was magic. A bit undulating but on quiet roads in beautiful countryside. And my Achilles wasn’t even sore. Managed 26.5km in under 2 hours (4:28’s).  Then a dip in the pool and starting on the cider at 1pm listening to some great bands. Happy days.

Post script:  Went for a little “lie down” at 8.30pm - 3 hours before the kids - and woke up 11hours later.  Booze and sunshine don’t work for me.

Friday hungover

Hungover from my client Xmas party. Managed my slowest ever 10km in the late afternoon.  Didn’t get one 10km split in under 5mins. Checked out a few ovals though.

HuRTs 10 x 400m plus 4 x 150m

Jogged over to Rushcutters still feeling fatigued and not much better than yesterday, although the achilles and calf were much better after ditching the exercises last night and just resting. I think I’ve been hammering it too much.

Arrived to find Timmy had set up the cones and marked out the beautiful surface perfectly. So after a bit of procrastination we were into it.  Didn’t smash them out but ran relatively hard and tried to stick with the same people. Timmy was running them well and Brendan, Jerome and Andy were ahead.  Picked up a bit towards the end when I gained confidence about not falling apart.

Times were: 74s, 74s, 74s, 74s, 74s, 74s, 73s, 73s, 72s and 71s.

Then onto 4 x 150m with a different person leading out each rep.  This is when you see the testosterone fly and some different blokes come out of the woodwork.  Have to say that Jerome looked majestic on the final 2. 

Jogged back for about 10km all up.

Wednesday abort

Late out at lunch. Planned a run around Centennial. Got to Kings Cross and pulled the pin. Left calf very tight, Achilles sore, knackered and couldn’t be arsed.  Liam and Biggsy both stopped to have a word seeing me walk back to the office.

HuRTs 4 x 2km reps

And Jac’s last session. Bumped into her on the way down with Renee. Said a few words and then we got into it.

Approached the session apprehensively, trying to feel my way in. Ran with Enda and Fats on the first rep overtaking Timmy towards the end  (6:56) so tried to keep them all under 7:00.  Enda ran away on the 2nd but then found out he was only doing 2. Fats also ahead.  But quicker in 6:50.  6:57 on the third when I set off behind the group so was playing catch up.  Then decided to put an effort in on the last rep and felt great running with Q and Jono for a 6:43.  Tired after that though.

3km warm down with Q and happy enough. Until I got back to the office and saw what times I ran this session at the end of July 2016, off a rolling 8:30 (instead of 9:00 today).

Monday recovery

12km nice and easy with Enda, Hoey and the HuRTs crew. Feeling ok.

Almost a long run

Shunned the 6am start despite a 5.30am alarm as I need the sleep recovery after a harder run on the Saturday.  Fortunately Craig and Hamish were keen for an 8.30am start.  Bit of a discussion as to where to go but we settled on a run around Narrabeen Lake getting there the most direct route.

Nice run. Felt good. Shout out to Lewis on our first km flying back the other direction (although as it turned out we were to return running the same pace over that section).

Pavlov Dog reaction on that route results in the pace increasing from Cromer onwards.  Last 2 km with Craig in under 4mins per km and I was cooked (it was pretty warm by then).  All up 25.2km in 4:28's.

Getting there.

Saturday session

Dropped Charlie at Kogarah then back to Centennial to catch up with Timmy and Birchy. Plan was a warm up then 8km tempo around the park then a cool down.

Hungover after our Department Xmas Lunch in the Lord Nelson yesterday. That said, we set off on the tempo with Timmy running 3:35 for the first km and I felt pretty comfortable.  Struggled a bit on the slight rises but then back into a good rhythm after 5km with Timmy helping out. All up ran 8km in 29:33 (3:41's) feeling ok.

14km all up.

Amazing runs by Scotty and Dave Criniti at State 5000m tonight.  14:48 holy crap with Scotty nudging Dave by 12 hundredths. 

HuRTs Awards

Too busy at work for session so just did 10km

in the late afternoon heading up to Centennial as I'm bored of the wharfs.  Very easy pace - 4:41's.

Then on to the awards and a great night.  The winners were:

1. Male POTY:  Barts off of his sensational C2S.

2. Female POTY:  Erika off of her Sun Run victory.

3. Improver:  Scotty based off his improvement from an already high standard.

4. Ultra: Luca due to his World Record exploits on the dreadmill.

5. Spirit:  Renee. Say no more.

6. Underperformed:  Timmy. No explanation required.

7. Triathlon:  Travis. Rare talent.

8. Nomad:  Andy.  Carcoar.

around and about

Up at Sparrow's Fart to wake Maggie and announce to her she was doing a speed session with 3 of the Beaches finest female runners in Erika, Amy and Emma.  They were doing 10 x 500m on Nolan's so I figured Maggie could do 250m reps.  Bit on confusion on which way they were running but she managed a few and loved it trying to keep up with her older fellow runners.

I ran about a bit, then did a cool down with Erika before heading on to Shelley where I joined in with Lewis for a bit (boy he goes hard every day) before retreating home.

15km slow but plenty of time in feet and a top morning with some top people.

HuRTs 1km reps

First up was final stroke correction class at 6.30am.  Still lots to work on, particularly relaxing my arm on entry and pushing the shoulder down.  But getting there.  I can now swim a much slower stroke so will join the Vladswim squad and hammer out the km for the time being.  Leaves me totally shagged (hence today's feeling at lunchtime) but so be it.

Out at lunch feeling knackered but down for the 8 x 1km reps (2min rest) at Barangaroo which is a pretty social session.  Massive turnout for a popular set which I may amend to put on more regularly.  First rep was a heart starter in 3:23 struggling along but then felt good for the next 5 running with Fats and Lachie in the 3:17 - 3:18 range.  After 6 the heat, humidity and morning swim got to me so eased up over the final two running 3:40's.

Another session done.  A bit of progression each time.  Cool down with Macca, JFen, Barts and Geordie for 13km all up.

Sunday on Monday

Missed Sunday run because:

1. I slept in having had the best night sleep in ages; and

2. Was going to go out in the afternoon but ended up taking the boys and 2 of Charlie's mates to "Thor: Ragnarok", which I thought would be 2 hours of kip after buying an Asahi with my popcorn but which turned out to be one of the funniest films I've seen in ages.  4 out of 5 popcorns on the Timmy scale for that one.

Anyway, got out at lunchtime today and had a great run with the squad, chatting to Gleeso, Biggsy, Jerome, Brendan and Heydo - finishing the whole 22.5km with the latter. Felt nice and bouncy today. A day's rest helps. The new Wave Rider 21's no doubt assisted.

Parkrun - 2nd in 17:12

Turned up today intent on staying with Darren and Ben for as long as possible. Ben was a no-show and Darren had had a few beers the night before so wasn't sure how he'd go.  But on the start line Jody Wall showed up and he ran a 16:4x a couple of weeks back so knew he'd keep it honest.

From the start Darren goes off like a shot and has gapped me and Jody by 20m. Stays that way gradually reeling him in by 2km. Then on the miserable pathway from the netball courts Jody pulls ahead as I'm feeling glum. 3:17, 3:23 then 3:30.  Then the hill and Darren drops off and Jody pulls ahead by to about 50m.  The gap stays that way. I was 15:00 at the bridge so a pretty poor effort coming home for 17:12 (last 2 kms 3:31 and 3:30). 

But all in all a good hit out and the times are starting to come down.  3km warm up and a 3km jog home for 11km all up.

Friday plod

Out solo although Jerome caught me at the end and we briefly ran together.  Tried to keep the heart rate low but still 135bpm for 10km in 4:45's.  Some people swear by this heart rate thing (Darrell credits his marathon PB at Sydney this year on it despite less volume) whereas others (Tiger in particular) think it's bollocks. 

My guess is that it has a place for building endurance for marathons, Ironman and above but no use for anything less.

HuRTs Rushcutters photo fest

Biggsy had his drone so Renee demanded a change to Rushcutters.  Mona Fartlek was the scheduled session so I changed to 8x800m off a rolling 4:30 (front group) and 5:00 (second group).

Great turnout, ground in mint condition and achilles still feeling good.  So I put some effort in for the first time in 10months.  Scotty was way out front; Andy, Jerome, Jack and Mikey L were in a group next with Fats, Enda, Macca and me behind.  Kept them consistent around 2:30 (it was short) with the last 2 a bit quicker.  Great to be able to push myself hard again so hopefully the improvements will come.

Great crowd as I said and nice to see LJ out having avoided the injury she feared and with Renee, Jac, Enda and another chick we had a decent female contingent for a change.

11km all up.

Not looking hugely comfortable.

Melbourne Wednesday

Best thing about staying overnight in Melbourne is the morning run from the Grand Hyatt.  Same as yesterday but:

1. Turned 1km further for 14km.

2. Cooler and beautiful weather for a run.

3. Had to face the mad commuter cyclists along the Yarra Trail. They're fucking nuts.

4:26's and moving well.  Happy. Achilles good.

Melbourne Tuesday

Down for a meeting and managed to get out along the Yarra Trail for 12km (turning at St Kevin's boat shed).  Bloody hot (32C) and as a result required more effort than would otherwise have been the case.  4:27's, picking up the pace gradually the whole way.

Sunday 2km extra

So each Sunday I'm adding 2km in order to build gradually. After an unexpected big night on Saturday (ended in the Boatshed at 1am with Mrs H and showing some good moves on the pool table) I got out in the afternoon and had the pleasure of Birchy's company. Even better, we ran into Erika along the way. 

Stayed local and finished with a couple of laps of Nolan's. Very easy pace (5:00+) for the 20km and the Achilles was a bit sore as a result so took Voltaren.

Saturday doublay

Dropped Charlie at Kogarah and met Timmy for a coffee which turned into 2.  So only 30mins odd for a ride which I did pushing around Centennial.  Did 2 faster laps (5:51 and 5:56) amongst the 20km.  First ride since Nepean and the legs were a bit rusty.

Got out in the late arvo for a run. Decided to put a place marker down on the 5km double loop of Manly Golf Course. Did 17:41 which I was pretty happy with. Laps of 8:50 and 8:51 so managed not to fall apart.  11km all up.

Friday I'm in love

Very easy plod in the late afternoon.  10km in 4:50's.  Had a very tough week at work and struggled with work and today was the result of that.

Wed easy

Out with Timmy for my 7th consecutive day for 11km very easy. Joined by Hoey and Marko.

91km over the past 7 days and feeling upbeat.

Tuesday HuRTs

45 continuous for my first Tuesday HurTS session in a year.  Feeling more and more confident with the achilles following the added glute exercises so set off with the intention of sticking to Macca for as long as I could.

Session is 7 x 2mins on, 1 off, 5min jog followed by 20mins tempo. Stuck to Macca until the turn, catching Enda just as we started the 5 min jog. Very impressed to see Cathy Liu only 100m back, got into the tempo return and stuck to Enda before pushing ahead from Mrs Macs back home.

Really happy with that averaging 3:49's for the whole 45mins.  3km cool down with Scotty and Q.

Encouraging

Ran 12km with the Monday HuRTs crew chatting mostly to Enda, Brendon F and Hoey. Best run I've had since injury.  Felt like I was finally flowing and achilles better than ever at the end. Have done some new glute medius exercises (my "Stephen Bradbury" exercises) so perhaps they are setting everything up properly.

4:36's br a great confidence boost.

Sunday increasing mileage gradually

Out for my first early Sunday run in 9 months. Caught up with Ben, Darren, Macca and the Cap'n for 18km on the flat at an easy pace.  Achilles good all the way although a bit sore now.  4:42's.

Saturday

6 hours of driving to kids activities with a hangover and then got out at 5.30pm. Couple of tempo sections - one Nolan's/Passmore loop and then another 2.2km around the golf course to keep the average pace for the 10km respectable (4:12's).

Beer Mile

Got out at lunchtime on Friday for an easy 10km around the wharves with Gidon, Jeet, Jerome and Mark.

Then it was the Beer Mile. Arrived and was very nervous.  Watched the B Race and was even more nervous, especially seeing JC and Jac both hurling big style.

Plan was the same as always, multiple swigs but just keep them going, 100m of burping while jogging then 300m hard.  Had a ding dong battle with Birchy and Brendan early on with Craig Mc just ahead. Pulled ahead of them towards the last lap but had Nick Roberts come flying by me with 100m to go and I had nothing. Happy to finish and with exactly the same time as last year (8:31). 

Here it is:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hMYUSvdWviY

Then on to O'Malley's for what is becoming the biggest social night of the year.

Thursday early

A rare early run for me but took some Voltaren last night to deal with this knee bursar and felt a million dollars.

13+km with Darren and Benny around the flat bits of Manly in 4:30's.

Melbourne Cup

Out early before our department lunch and Crossy was keen to do a tempo. I ageed to go with him provided it was no quicker than 3:50's.

Did a nice route around Blackwater Bay but by Anzac Bridge (7km ish) I was struggling to hold on.  Each km split was between 3:45 - 3:50 until we climbed the bridge where I blew out to a 4:24!  

Chest still very tight but fitness is appalling.  Nice to get it done though and thanks to Crossy.

Lost as usual on the Cup.  My annual contribution to the Allens banking team.

MLR

Well, longest run in a long while. Did the North Head loop (16.6km) in 1:12:24 (4:22's).  Bouncing along nicely with a much higher cadence than recently. Maybe that Parkrun yesterday was just the ticket.

Nice to do a different loop if a very familiar one. Achilles good, right knee a bit sore.

Back to Parkrun

Have decided to try and get in a regular habit of doing Parkruns. I'm a bit worried that all my running is at a slow pace these days so need to get the legs used to some faster stuff. Didn't want to go full bore though (chest still very tight post cold) so a tempo it was.

Got up and did my usual eccentric loading and roll out which had the achilles feeling good. Woke Mags up and headed over with Kirst who was doing some laps of the oval.  Started very easily mid pack and spent 2km overtaking people.  Was in about 7th at 2km and noticed the bloke 100m in front of me cut the corner at the netball courts the cheating bastard. Resolved there and then to beat him. Took me until the final 300m to get past him (and a significant pick up in the final km) but karma was restored.

All up 4th in 18:43.  It's a start.

Jogged back up the track to see Mags having a great run not having done this for a few months. I think she came in at high 22's but looked great doing so and put a few middle aged men to shame.

Cold FFS

Still can't shake this cold. Actually feel worse today than yesterday. Got out at lunch on a manic day for 10+km very easy with Enda, Jerome, Mark B, TKS and Jack the Lad.  Running feels fine (albeit I haven't tried any pace work since my depressing 400's of last week) and only averaged 130bpm.

Post JPM blues

Missed JPMorgan due to sickness (I was bed-ridden Monday and Tuesday) which was frustrating given I've been running pretty much pain free for 3 weeks now.  Got out today for 10+km around the wharves with Hoey (talking about Quintis), Jerome, Renee, Gidon, Birchy and Jack the Lad.  4:45's feeling pretty comfortable (138 bpm average heart rate).

Some great runs last night. Scotty dipped under 17 for 3rd, Barts just over but got the last of my PBs by 3s, great to see Andy putting it on the line to go under 18 and LJ returned to racing with a low 20 for 4th.