A Literary Flat Spot.

Haven't posted since the Striders Half a fortnight ago, but the flurry of posts on CR about blogs got me back into it again. Guilt- it's a strong motivator.

I went into the Striders Half- my second Half ever (45 marathons and ultras though!) and first in 5 1/2 years, with no goals exceptto beat Kev, which I managed to do over the last 250 metres with a time of 99 minutes.

The effort (off two weeks training) left me flat for a few days and I battled through hills two days later before cutting the session short. I've gradually come back- I've been rowing 10K consistently in the gym 4 or so days a week and my times slowed for a while, but by the end of last week I was back to my best. Last Tuesday I managed to do 16 hills in 1.28. When I was running my PBs i was doing the 16 in 1.24, so I'm still battling back into shape.

Had a fairly ordinary second half of last Sunday's Star but bounced back well today when Spud, Vat and I ran the full 6FT today- we got a bit competitive and pushed hard from Pluvi to the end- our time over the last 19km was identical with the time it took me to cover it when I ran my 6FT PB in 2002, and I seemed to be holding my own well with the boys. We finished in 6.05.

Still doing the 30/30 sessions on Saturdays and 400s on Thursday mornings with Vat despite the Godawful early hour we do these sessions at. In the last two weeks my tiomes for 8 x 400 have been

21/10

84
88
86
86
86
87
87
87

28/10

84
87
87
86
86
86
85
84

So overall I seem to be improving again after my flat period following the Half. Mr Jackson wants me to aim for 90 inutes at the Central Coast Half on December 5 but I'm wondering if I should do some tempo work- currently it's three days of intervals, the Star, and filler and gym work. Probably about 80-90km/week at the moment plus gym work, including about 40km of rowing/week.

Anyway this brings me up to date. I'll have to keep posting regularly- not a good show to start up a blog about a dream that is years off, and fall off the momentum of regular posting in the first few weeks! It's a funky training log if nothing else....

"This Had Better F'ing Work..."

Got up stupidly early for more 400s with Vat.

90
89
86
86
87
89
89
88

Plus 1200m warm up, 800m warm down, and 7km run to work after that. Nasty, nasty session. There was a superfit looking girl with impressive hamstrings and zero bodyfat who was also running 400s and she was crusing through them faster than us and looking no more tired than if she'd just walked down to the supermarket. By comparison, Vat and I were stuffed after every rep. But, as he rationalised, "has she broken 3 for the marathon? Or run 100 miles?" thus our smug male superior attitude was restored.

After only two weeks back at the speedwork, I can already detect changes in my form when running these sessions, as I mentioned to Vat this morning. Driving forward with the knees (a little bit...), driving off the ground (rather than my customary shuffle) and longer back kick. Given a little time this should start to infiltrate my "everyday" running form too.

Also saw Spud down at the track running 30/30s.

All this pain had better have some sort of payoff.

I've Been Remiss.

I shouldn't get guilty about missing a few days posting on here, I only started this blog so I could hassle Harris.

On FRIDAY 8/10/04 I ran 35 mins in the morning and hit the gym at lunch- rowed 30 minutes if I recall.

On SATURDAY 9/10/04 I did what Action calls a "Pat Carroll Special"- warmed up for 2km, then (on a grass 400m track) alternated 30 seconds of sprinting and 30 seconds jogging for 15 minutes. Apparently a great builder of speed. I noticed my style was very different to usual- even compared to when I'm running 400s. It got a bit soul searching around the 6th and 7th rep but was over quickly, and being short, it didn't trash me that much. Did about half an hour warm down and swam a kilometre slowly afterwards.

On SUNDAY 10/10/04 I ran the Mosman STaR- a hilly 31km in a touch under 3 hours. Felt okay on the flats and downs but still nowhere on the uphills. Good to be back running with the old crowd, although doing the long bush stuff solo in the hills does have its own magic.

On MONDAY 11/10/04 I ran 55 minutes to work.

On TUESDAY 12/10/04 I ran 3km warm up, then did 12 repeats of Lilyfield Rd hill with JD. Felt much better than last week- sluggish at the start, but then got better. My fastest reps were my 12th and 10th. Averaged 1.28. Then did another 3km.
At lunch I hit the gym- rowed 9km in 35 minutes, plus some other stuff.

TODAY I ran 53 minutes to work. It's a bloody hot day- was nudging 30 degrees at 9am as I was finishing, and it's about 37 now. At lunch I went to the gym and hit the 10K/40 minute marks on the rower- 10276m in 40.08. Good stuff. Followed it with some ab work, etc.

Watching the calories I eat is mentally bloody hard, bloody hard... but has to be done.

Short, Sharp Shock.

Got up at bloody 4.15 to head up to Rotary Field at Chatwood to run 8 x 400 with Vat, with a 75% recovery. First interval session since early March. Bloody cold at the start- that track always is.

My times...

86
89
89
90
91
91
92
92

Damned slow, but they can only get better. It's obvious how the autumn/winter break from quality to focus on sheer volume has buggered up my speed. Still, as I said to Vat, "if I had actually finished both 100 milers (Leadville and Glasshouse) I'd be thinking of myself as pretty clever right now."

Anyway, bloody hard session, even on grass. We did 800m warm down, then I ran to work- about 7km.

Went to the gym at lunch and did 30 minutes on the rower- 7600m. Upper body noticeably more tired today than yesterday but still averaged under 4min/km. My body obviously hasn't adapted to the point where I can back up day after day with no problems, but it IS adapting...

Had a spasm in my left quad afterwards- bit like the old trouble. Stretching seemed to help. Might go for a swim tomorrow- that definitely helps this sort of thing.

Weight Control is Speedwork.

Forgot to add, I've started keeping a food diary. Over winter, I managed to put on a few kgs even though I was doing fairly large mileage.... so I need to shed some bulk. My own size is one of my biggest impediments when it omes to running faster and longer. Gotta go for gaunt. Consumed 2305 calories today. That's a deficit, but I can probably trim a bit more from that.

Crosstraining.

Did a quick 35 minute run from West Ryde station to the office this morning. This run is basically all uphill or flat, no downhill. It starts off with a climb up Anzac Ave (surely one of the steepest hills in Sydney) then picks up the Shrimptons Creek bike path for about 15 minutes, then finishes off with uphills on Waterloo and Talavera Rds.

At lunch I hit the gym and got on the rower. I've been trying to build up on this machine- started on 15 minutes at maximum dfficulty, then 16 minutes, etc. My last session (20 minutes) was tremendously hard physically and mentally, but today I churned through 25 minutes (6500m) and thought "I could've done 30". Might try that tomorrow. Hopefully my upper body is starting to adapt to the workload.

Normally I'd go for another run at lunch, but in the pursuit of speed (my first objective next year will be to take big chunks out of my 10K before I can build for the marathon) my mileage will be fairly low to ensure I'm as fresh as possible- 70-80km/week. So I'll be doing a fair amount of crosstraining, and the rower is not a bad choice- better than swimming anyway. Hopefully I can work up to doing 40, 45 minutes on the rower as a matter of course.

Gold In Them Thar Hills.

Missed a run yesterday but got up at 4.30 this morning to head down to Lilyfield Rd to run some hill repeats with Johnny D. When I was last doing this session in February, March I was doing 16 reps (300m long hill) averaging around 1.24, 1.25. This morning I wheezed out 10 @ 1.31. Hmm. It can only get better from here. Hopefully next week 12 repeats, then 14, 16, and after that I'll try do my 16 repeats quicker.

It's satisfying, setting a goal and carrying it out, even if it's just "do 10 slow reps without blowing up" and it'll be satisfying seeing my sessions improve. That's motivation above and beyond the fast marathon and, ultimately, sub 24 hour Western States that is my primary motivation in running.

Took a call from Vat after lunch... he got out on the Six Foot Track today and ran from Megalong Valley Rd to the summit of Pluviometer ansd back. "Damn near killed me," he said. "What have I got myself in for?"

Lovely, seeing the rude shock that 6FT newbies undergo when they get out there. Harris, you are in for a memorable time, mate.

Oh Man, I Have Work To Do.

Did the Wahroonga Wobble STaR this morning, my first long run of significance for quite some time, apart from my two ultras in the last couple of months. And it showed. I was dropped by the pack (Vat, Bodnar, Harris, Kev, Suzanne Kelly, Spud, etc) quite quickly, although I later regrouped.

Coming back after a layoff is always a drag....