thIntervals- 7 x 800m.

TUESDAY 31/5/05, 5.30AM, 16K, WEEK TO DATE 24.5K, 4 HOURS SLEEP

 

To Rotary Field for yet more intervals with Vat- in this case 7 x 800m at under 5K race pace with 1.45 jogging recovery.

 

Warmed up by running to the track, which was, as usual, very damned cold- a frost actually formed at the north end of the field during our session, which meant our last couple of laps were audibly crunching when we were at that end of the track. So probably about 2 degrees or so. During the workout I wore a coolmax t shirt, long tights, gloves, cap, shoes.

 

3.55min/km is a 3.08 800, so I tried to keep all my reps at under that time.

 

3.03

3.05

3.05

3.04

3.01

3.01

3.01

 

Warmed down on the track with Vat, then caught the bus to work (in order to give the soleus some relief- I'm seeing Martin Horne tomorrow morning). Spud turned up for some reps of his own as we were warming down.

 

Not a bad session, not a great session. Didn't feel that good, form or fitness wise, but the numbers weren't too bad. No "top gear" when I wanted to bash the back end of the last couple of reps.

EDIT: TUESDAY 31/5/05, 6.30PM, 8.5K (41.25, 4.49min/km), WEEK TO DATE 33K

Worked through the day, no lunch break. After work I repeated last night's office->Crimea Rd->office route, about a minute quicker. About 14 degrees. Felt a bit better than last night's run, still not great though- did feel smoother on the way back after warming up. A quite long warm up will be the order of the day before the 10K this Saturday, I think.

Filler Run.

MONDAY 30/5/05, 7PM, 8.5K (42.32, 4.57min/km), 5.5 HOURS SLEEP

Slept in again and missed my chance to run before work. Then had meetings all day and had no chance to run at lunch, so had to run after work. That'll teach me to miss my alarm.

Extended my Waterloo Park run to the end of Crimea Rd- total of 8.6K with plenty of bonus hills. Cold, about 12 degrees. Didn't feel great technically, form wasn't good, got round in a bit under 5min/km.

Intervals tomorrow morning.

May 5K Challenge, etc.

SATURDAY 28/5/05, 6.30AM, 17K, WEEK TO DATE 67K, 5 HOURS SLEEP

 

Had high hopes for this one- recent running indicated a sub 19.30 was on the cards, as a stepping stone to a sub 40 10K next week. However, I continued my trent of the last week or so of sleeping through my alarm (more on that later) and waking at 6.10am, rather than the usual 5.30. Meant I had to very hurriedly get ready and head out the door for my 6K warmup run to the start, during which I felt pretty damned ordinary. Cold morning, 4 C at my place- wore long tights for the first time this year, with a coolmax t shirt. About 8 C at the start itself by the water.

 

I was running late, arriving at the start just as Action was calling 10 seconds to the start of the 20 minute wave, so I basically turned around and ran straight back with no break.

 

I was breathing hard in the first K, which is not a good sign. Splits were

 

3.54

3.59

3.59

4.01

3.55

for a 19.50 finish. Then I ran home for a 17K morning. Went back to bed for a couple of hours. I was going to stop by Emu Plains (en route to a dinner in the mountains that night) for the West Metropolitan 10K CC race that afternoon, but CBF.

 

SUNDAY 29/5/05, 8PM, 6K (29.55, 4.54min/km), WEEKLY TOTAL 72K, 8 HOURS SLEEP

 

No long run- no motivation, slept in a bit instead. Had some other things to do during the day, so finally ended up doing a token 6.1K after dinner, during which I didn't feel particularly sharp. Both soleus and lower back still a bit troublesome. Pretty cool weather, about 9 degrees. Ate far too much today as well.

 

WEEKLY TOTAL 72K

 

This was a recovery week from the rogaine, but the mileage is still right down on where I thought it would be- should have been about 100K. I seemed to recover from the rogaine quickly and be in good form by the end of the working week, with running feeling very easy, but died in the arse on the weekend. There are a few indicators that have me bothered a bit...

 

1. The fact that I've been unable to get up and run before work in almost two weeks. Especially with the change of job- the more I can do running outside office hours the better. Missed my alarm again today.

 

2. The 5K. Not the best preparation of course, but I was surprised to find myself breathing hard in the opening kilometre- a 3.54. At the North Head 10K at the start of the month, I opened with a 3.58 and did a 3.59 at halfway. Both felt a lot easier than this 3.54- I didn't breathe hard in that 10K till the last kilometre, which was a 3.45.

 

They might not be anything of themselves, but there's a trend there which is not positive. Suppose I'll found out more this week.

Pre 5K Loosener.

FRIDAY 27/5/05, 10PM, 10.5K (47.36, 4.35min/km), WEEK TO DATE 50K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

 

Office->Dunbar Field->5K barefoot->office on a 16 C day with a strong south westerly blowing.

 

Didn't intend to push it particularly hard, but this is the third day in a row where I've produced a run at sub 4.40min/km. Not sure what the story is there. Form was okay, both soleus quite sore by the end of the run. Didn't feel as good as yesterday, but not too bad all the same.

System Check.

THURSDAY 26/5/05, 12.15PM, 11.5K (53.25, 4.39min/km), WEEK TO DATE 39.5K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

 

Clear skies, about 17 degrees, the usual office->LCNP10K in reverse->office course.

 

Really good run- for much of it I felt I was floating, not what I usually associate with my running. Just tried to run "solid" pace where breathing gets a bit deeper, and hit the weir in about 24.20 and came off Scribbly in 38.15.

 

Should be able to run a good one at the Bay 5K on Saturday morning.

System Check.

WEDNESDAY 25/5/05, 12.15PM, 10.5K (47.33, 4.35min/km), WEEK TO DATE 28K, 6.5 HOURS SLEEP

Office->Dunbar Field->5K barefoot->office in a pretty quick time. Was trying to run "solid" pace. Cool but humid, about 18 degrees with no wind- the singlet came off when I was at the track, which probably scared the schoolkids using the long jump pit....

Still some stiffness in the calves, soleus and lower back. Form took a while to come back- not until I'd done a few laps of the oval.

System Check.

TUESDAY 24/5/05, 4PM, 11.5K (55.56, 4.52min/km), WEEK TO DATE 17.5K, 8 HOURS SLEEP

Slept right in and awoke with legs feeling better though not 100%.

Was bloody busy all day with the new job and only managed to duck out for a run at 4pm. The usual work->LCNP 10K reversed->work course. About 18 degrees and clear skies.

The legs felt pretty bloody ordinary for the first couple fo km but once I got going I felt okay, although working a touch harder than usual. Got to the weir in about 25.30. Legs were a lot better than yesterday but still some mild tightness in both quads (especially the left), glutes and calves.

Results from the rogaine are here. 38th of 99 teams. Not bad.

Recovery.

MONDAY 23/5/05, 6.30PM, 6K, 5 HOURS SLEEP

Flew in from QLD in the morning and went straight into the office. After work I did a loosener to Waterloo Park and back in about 32 minutes. Form okay, but...

The rogaine has physically beaten me up worse than any event since C2K. Sore quads, glutes, hip flexors, left hamstring, to a lesser extent calves. As usual after a big one, on tonight's run I paid attention to my heart and breathing rates on the uphills and they did not take off, so I'm hopeful all the damage is just to the legs and not endocrinal.

Should be okay by the weekend.

Australian Rogaine Championship.

SATURDAY 21/5/05, 12PM, 70K, WEEKLY TOTAL 108K, 4 HOURS SLEEP

Tony Howes and I were paired up for the Australian 24 hour Rogaine Championship to be held around the Cherrabah station between Warwick and Stanthorpe in southern QLD's granite belt high country.

Rogaining, for the uninitated, is the sport of long distance cross country navigation, requiring teams of 2-5 to score as many points as possible through locating control points with the aid of mapps and compass. Events are usually 24 or 12 hours. As usual, the ARC started at noon Saturday and finished at noon Sunday. Competitors can return to the central base camp (the "Hash House") at any time for complimentary hot food, drink, gear change etc and depart again, plus there were 5 water dumps on the course.

Tony has an admirable resume, having finished the 100 mile run at Glasshouse plus quite a bit of prior experience in orienteering and rogaining. As it turned out, he did most of the navigation and I was the passenger who followed his cues. Like me, Tony is aiming for sub 24 hours at this year's Glasshouse 100.

We walked the entire event, having devised a spiral shaped course that took us through hilly gully country in the Saturday afternoon daylight- which slowed us behind schedule- then the night leg was mostly gently sloping open paddocks and light bush which allowed us to move faster than expected and back on schedule, then Sunday morning was more rough gully country (much of it across the NSW border) during which we became thoroughly disoriented in some very nasty lantana infestations and ran out of time to reach the final few controls we had planned to score.

We scored about 2100 points of a possible maximum 4300- which gets us into the top half I think, but full results weren't finalised when we left. The winning score was an even 4000 by David Rowlands and Mike Hotchkiss.

Despite the fact that we walked it all, it is still a very demanding event- we covered over 70km in total and both of us suffered pre-dawn disorientation through lack of sleep. Tony was able to get over much of his courtesy of a 10 minute power nap around 1am when I was doing some footcare, however when my systems started to shut down about an hour later (hallucinations included!) Tony was on a roll with his navigation, plus it was getting damned chilly (3 degrees at Warwick, under 2 degrees at Stanthorpe) and we didn't want to stop as a result. As a result I spent about three hours stumbling along, unable to compute anything more than the fact that I needed to follow Tony's headlamp. A 20 minute doze just before dawn (very cold!) alleviated the condition.

PIcked up a couple of blisters- I now think my heel blister problems are related to my orthotics. Time for a new pair. Legs and hips quite stiff as a result of the uneven pace, footing and elevation- plus I'm just not trained for 24 hours (well, 23 hours 41 minutes) of walking. Also very tired- partly due to sleep deprivation. Good ultra training. Legs and arms covered in scratches from bushwhacking- the hiking pants I wore (which have handled a few rogaines in the past) were ripped open in several locations, some when scaling barbed wire fences, some as a result of barbed vegetation.

WEEKLY TOTAL 108K

Good week- two good interval sessions and a 24 hour training run. Next week I'll play by ear depending on my recovery- don't think there will be any speedwork before I race enxt Saturday, but volume might be highish.

Recovery.

FRIDAY 21/5/05, 5.30PM, 5K, WEEK TO DATE 38K, 5 HOURS SLEEP

5K along the Brisbane River at very easy pace. Soleus a bit sore. Temperature in the high teens and humid (rained later in the evening).

Rogaine tomorrow. Tony reckons we'll cover about 70K in the 24 hours- he's done events in the area before.

Intervals- 3 x 2K.

THURSDAY 19/5/05, 12.30PM, 12K, WEEK TO DATE 33K, 6.5 HOURS SLEEP

 

Had a lot of packing to do this morning so at lunch I ran up to Dunbar for 3 x 2K (each rep being 5 laps of the 400m track, of course).

 

I've loaned the Garmin away for a few days so had to time myself with the Timex. Given its functions are not as user friendly, I didn't have proper intermediate splits (had a rough idea) so took the first rep out too fast, then had to try to match those numbers for the rest of the session. As a result, I was working pretty hard on the last lap of the first rep, the last two laps of the second trep, and the last 2.5 laps of the third rep.

 

2.7K warmup in 12.52 (4.46)

 

Took off shoes....

 

3 x 2K with 3 min jog recovery

 

7.44

7.44

7.41

 

Put shoes back on....

 

2.7K warmdown in 13.01 (4.49)

 

Hard work, very good numbers but perhaps had to work too hard for them. 16 degrees and cloudy with a steady southerly wind. My soleus was so-so during the session but was a tight, painful ball when I got back to the office. I'll book an appointment with Martin Horne for early next week- just hope the rogaine doesn't stress it too much.

Recovery.

WEDNESDAY 18/5/05, 8AM, 6K (29.08, 4.47min/km), WEEK TO DATE 21K, 7.5 HOURS SLEEP

 

Got a bunch of stuff on today so my only chance to run was to head out for a jaunt before work. I did a quick run up to Waterloo Park and back. Wore an old pair of shoes and could really feel my soleus as a result. Form wasn't great but pace was just fine, funnily enough.

 

Cold morning- about 13 degrees. It had rained overnight and earleir that morning but had stopped when I was out there.

 

2K intervals tomorrow, easy run Friday, Rogaine Saturday and Sunday.

Intervals- 8 x 400m.

TUESDAY 17/5/05, 12.30PM, 9K, WEEK TO DATE 15K, 7 HOURS SLEEP

 

Nominally I would have been running with Vat this morning at some stupid hour but I elected to get some more sleep, and ran up to Dunbar Field at lunch for some 400s on the track. My soleus was a consideration too- I wanted to spare it any more commuting with a backpack, which I would have had to do if I ran at Rotary. I decided to do 8 x 400, but (as with last Tuesday's session) use a 50 second jogging recovery, not the 60 second standing recovery I usually use in this session.

 

2.7K warm up in 12.42 (4.42 pace). Felt wanky but seemed to be moving all right.

 

Took off shoes....

 

85

84

83

81

81

80

80

77 (new 400m PB by one second)

 

Put shoes back on, 2.7K back to the office, very ugly, 13.08 (4.52 pace).

 

My legs are a bit tired, but at an endocrinal level I seem to be fine, given the steady progressiont hrough the session. Could feel the soleus a bit, but not too bad.

 

About 16 degrees and very humid- steady rain most of the morning, but I only got a couple of brief showers during my workout. Started raining steadily again after I finished.

Recovery.

MONDAY 16/5/05, 6.30PM, 6K (29.19, 4.48min/km), 7 HOURS SLEEP

Slept in a bit, meetings all day, did 6.1K (office->Waterloo Park->office) feeling surprisingly good- even felt all right on uphills for a change. Soleus was still a bit sore and achilles also felt tight- I think a result of the fact that I did a few km last week toting a backpack- I could feel the Achilles last Tuesday coming ito the office after the track session.

About 15 degrees with rain on the return leg.

Long Run- North Head STaR

SUNDAY 15/5/04, 6AM, 30K, WEEK TO DATE 143K, 3 HOURS SLEEP

Not a good night's sleep as you can see. To Clontarf on a cold morning for another 30K with the Sydney Striders through Clontarf, Manly, Queenscliff, Manly Dam, Balgowlah.

Felt fairly ordinary at the start- combination of lack of sleep and two hard days beforehand. My left soleus was still sore. Found myself trotting along at 5min/km with Spud, MPHaz and Redback. Despite the cold, we didn't stop for water till about 17K, which was probably a mistake. On the way back towards Manly Dam at around the half marathon mark MPHaz (who was feeling worse than me) and I stopped for another water stop and the other two went on ahead.

My soleus was feeling worse and Haz walked a couple of times. I walked with him the first time, but the second time he waved me on ahead. I slowly jogged back to Clontarf for a total time of 2.40 and a couple of cans of Solo.

The STaRs are not exactly the best place to practice running a fast or consistent pace- given they are always hilly and mix up different surfaces- but excellent for building strength. I just wasn't feeling sharp today, although we were clicking along at decent pace for the first 20K or so, after that I lost some interest and died a bit too. Hard days and lack of sleep don't combine very well.

Was going to run again in the arvo to bump my total up to 100 miles but given I have a 24HR rogaine next weekend I figured a 90 minute sleep in the afternoon would be more productive.

WEEKLY TOTAL 143K

Not quite where I wanted it to be, given work got in the way of a couple of runs. Still did decent quality and 143km is not bad.

The last few weeks have been pretty hard training. I've done big volume before of course, many times, but usually without this level of speedwork, plus lifting my average run pace to sub 5min/km, both take their toll over the space of weeks. Alternating big and small weeks is the best way to cope with this I think. This will be a low-volume week leading up to the rogaine.

East Metropolitan Cross Country.

SATURDAY 14/5/04, 2.30PM, 12K, WEEK TO DATE 107K, 8 HOURS SLEEP

Was going to get up early for a warm up morning run but slept in instead. To St Peters after lunch for a 5K cross country race in Sydney Park, courtesy of Sean Williams and Randwick-Botany club.

After a hurried warm up, we were off on the 2.5K course which, naturally, we would run twice. It was a quite hilly course, mostly grass with a little bike path, gravel and other surfaces mixed in ("Shouldn't bother you, being a trail runner" Sean said with a big grin before the start). I tried to keep Vat in sight and probably went out too quickly, as I died in the second lap (after losing a bit of a duel with Fire Horse) to finish in 20.39. Not a PB course, so a sub 20 was never on the cards- definitely blew my race through bad tactics though, plus I had yesterday's intervals in the legs. Vat and I both recorded the course as about 4.7K on the GPS, but give the course looped back on itself a bit, it might be an accurate 5K- I suspect the truth is in between. Whatever- I wanted a good training hitout, and that's what short races are good for.

Vat and I ran the course again for a 5K warmdown, near the end of which some stupid fucking yappy dog ran between my feet and I took a tumble. Not much damge; lost some bark on both hands and elbows and my right knee.

About 18 degrees, cloudy with a strong south westerly wind.

SATURDAY 14/5/05, 7.30PM, 6K (30.12, 4.57min/km), WEEK TO DATE 113K

My evening plans were cancelled and I wanted to see how the knock to the knee would go at the STaR tomorrow, so I did 6.1K after dinner. The legs were complaining "hey mate, you know you blew up in a race this afternoon?"- left soleus particularly tight- which is why I got to the turnaround in 15.40 odd, but I warmed up and negative split the course. The knee was stiff and a bit sore, but once I warmed up it was okay. I could feel it again once I cooled down however.

About 15 degrees with a south westerly wind.

Intervals- 2K and 1K reps.

FRIDAY 13/5/05, 6.45AM, 13.5K, WEEK TO DATE 95K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

 

Cool, about 15 C, with a little drizzle. Solid rain fell yesterday afternoon and last night.

 

Bit of a super session today- 3 x 2K (the first two reps at 10K race pace, the third at 5K race pace) then 1 x 1K, with 3 minute jogging recovery between reps. So I projected to run the first rwo reps at just under 8 minutes, the third rep in 7.45 or so, and the 1K in 3.45.

 

2.7K run to the track at Dunbar Field as warmup in 13.10 (4.53min/km). Stomach churning this morning. Felt uninspired.

 

First 2K: 7.53 (97, 94, 92, 94, 95)

Second 2K: 7.56 (95, 94, 95, 95, 96). Thinking about pulling the pin at this stage, legs sore and heavy, breathing too hard. Took off my shoes and did the rest barefoot, it seemed to help.

Third 2K: 7.46 (95, 93, 92, 91, 91)- felt much better

1K: 3.46 (90, 91, 44)

 

Ran back to the office in 13.13 (4.54min/km).

 

I could definitely feel my big week in the legs in the first two reps, surprised what a difference taking my shoes off made to proceedings. I had to work harder than I expected early on- a bit too close to the anaerobic "red line", and I'm a bit narked the second rep was slower than the first. Still, that's another 7 sub-4 minute Ks in the legs.....

 

Want to run at lunch, not sure if I'll get a chance to however.

Recovery.

THURSDAY 12/5/04, 12.30PM, 11.5K (56.02, 4.52min/km), WEEK TO DATE 81.5K, 7.5 HOURS SLEEP

Recovery day. Did my usual office->LCNP 10K reversed->office course in cool but humid conditions. Felt tired (but mechanically good) for the first 3K or so, then picked it up a bit once I warmed up. Reached the weir in 25.40 odd, then mentally switched off a bit between Scribbly and the top gates.

Bit of an intervals super session coming up tomorrow.

Big Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY 11/5/05, 5.30AM, 27.5K (2.19.30, 5.04min/km), WEEK TO DATE 59.5K, 5.5 hours sleep

Didn't end up doing my second run yesterday due to meetings. I'll live.

Had a meeting this morning yet wanted to run long. Couldn't afford to bowl into the office at 6.30 and run 28K again, by the time I showered and ate I'd be late, so I ran into work with my gear in a backpack (16K, 1.25.30, 5.21min/km), dumped the pack and ran my usual office->LCNP 10K reversed->office course (11.5K, 54.00, 4.42min/km) for a 27.5K total. Was at my desk by 8.40.

Cold morning- about 10 degrees. I used my old Camelbak HAWG backpack and it didn't bother me as much as I expected, felt I was moving pretty well. Once I lost the pack I felt better. Saw Spud twice down in LCNP, moving quite fast.

Not a bad workout and reasonably time efficient. Might do it again but leave clothes etc here at work beforehand, so I can just carry wallet, phone etc in my pockets.

WEDNESDAY 11/5/05, 12.30PM, 10.5K (49.03, 4.43min/km), WEEK TO DATE 70K

Work->Dunbar Field->5K barefoot on the grass-> return. Felt I needed a barefoot run after running with the pack this morning- inevitably carrying a pack affects your form. Felt like I was moving quite well, although it took me a while to warm up and I suffered a bit on the last uphill of the run.

Intervals- 800s and 400s.

TUESDAY 10/5/05, 5.45AM, 20.5K, WEEK TO DATE 32K

To Rotary Track at a godawful hour for intervals with Vat. Cold morning- probably about 10 degrees. His schedule had him doing the following:

2 x 800m @ 5K race pace with 1 minute jogging recoveries
8 x 400m @ 3K race pace to start with, then getting quicker, with 50 second jogging recoveries

For me, that is 800 in about 3.10 and 400s in about 90 seconds to start with.

Did a warmup of about 6.5K (part of it being a commute to the track from the station) then into the 800s.

3.08 (did the first half in 90 flat and backed off)
3.15 (as a result, did the first half of this one too slow)

Then into the 400s.

89
88
87
89 (mentally lost it a bit)
86 (that's better)
84
84
83

The last two were hard work. Felt my form clicking along fairly well in the last three or four reps.

Then a long warm down including commuting to work on foot.

Will run again later today.

Recovery. Starting Another High Volume Week.

MONDAY 9/5/05, 12.30PM, 11.5K (54.39, 4.45min/km)

Usual office->LCNP 10K reversed->work course. Didn't feel too inspired but my form was good and I reached the turnaround in 25.05 and came off scribbly in 39.02. Mild but sunny autumn day- took my singlet off and let the sun settle on my skin.

Tomorrow morning- intervals with Vat at Rotary at some godawful time of morning.

Bush Run.

SUNDAY 8/5/05, 6.30AM, 18K- WEEKLY TOTAL 82K

Mother's Day so I skipped the STaR to be the dutiful son. Arranged to meet Sarge for the Grose Head South->St Columbas loop in the lower mountains. Cool and misty. Sarge was great company and the 18Ks ticked through with me hardl;y noticing it. Took about 1K to warm up and we picked up the pace in the 3Ks or so. Total time was about 96 minutes- 5.30 odd km, which is fine for a recreational bush run.

Really good fun. No stress, good for the headspace.

WEEKLY TOTAL 82K

Did what I wanted to do. Two good interval sessions and a new 10K PB at the Striders run.

Next week will be return to high volume- I'll try to do 100 miles (161K) in the week. Two interval sessions (Tuesday and Friday), one long run Wednesday... tempted to go to SMC on Sunday and see if I can take more time off my 10K but it doesn't really fit in with my longer term objectives. Suspect I'll do either the East or West Metropolitan CC race on Saturday arvo and run long again Sunday.

Striders North Head 10K- It's a PB, Baby!

SATURDAY 7/5/05, 7AM, 14K (2K warmup, 10K race, 2K warmdown), WEEK TO DATE 64K

Biiiiiiiig PB- 40.23 vs the old 41.40.

First, mention to the other runners- I believe Beaky won the overall, big PB to Spud, PBs to Fats, Truckie and Miss Skarmel, Vat back ins omething like his old form....

My last two races (West Metropolitan CC and Bay 5K) told me that a sub 41 time was theoretically possible, so I quietly told a few people beforehand of my plan to run 4.05min/km for as long as I could today and see what worked out.

Mild weather- about 19 degrees with a light shower on the way to the race. Parking was impossible, so I only got in about a 2K warmup having had to walk a fair distance to the start.

Found myself running with Spud and a hyperventilating Miss Skarmel after the start, with MPHaz visibible just up ahead. Haz would, maddeningly, stay about the same distance in front of me for the entire race.

I lost Spud and Skarmel after about 2K and started moving through the field, passing a series of people I don't normally race 10K with- Greg Donovan, Charles Coville, Rooster, Superflake, Steve Bodnar.

When I caught Steve and Suzanne Kelly at about the 8K mark, we traded positions a bit before I left them behind in the last kilometre. Strained hard to catch MPHaz but to no avail. Saw the clock and gave myself a bit of a Lleyton salute as I crossed the line with a 77 second PB.

Felt aerobically comfortable almost the whole way- I was waiting for my usual nasty patch to develop between 6 and 8K but it never happened and I was able to bash the last K chasing MPHaz.

Splits:

3.58
4.04 (8.02)
4.07 (12.09)
4.05 (16.14)
3.59 (halfway 20.14)
4.03 (24.17)
4.06 (28.24)
4.06 (32.30- had a minor panic here, read it as 33...)
4.07 (36.38)
3.45 (40.23)

Badly overdue to run a time like this, but hell, I'll take it anyway.....

Pre-10K Loosener.

FRIDAY 6/5/05, 4PM, 6K, WEEK TO DATE 50K

Ducked out late in the afternoon for a loosener from the office to Waterloo park and back. Felt ordinary for the first 2K then came good. 19C and 77% humidity. John Young drove past and gave me a beep and a wave.

6.1K in 28.50 (halfway 14.28)- 4.44min/km.

Intervals- 2 x 2K.

THURSDAY 5/5/05, 12.15PM, 11K, WEEK TO DATE 44K

Was going to meet Vat at 6am for 2 x 2K, but had a bad night's sleep so messaged him my apologies and went back to bed. Arose after 5 1/2 hours poor sleep and went to work. At lunch I ran up to Dunbar Field to do the same workout on the track there- 2 x 2K reps with 3 minute active recovery. Supposedly the first 2K at 10K race pace, the second at 5K race pace.

I ran to the track and did 2 laps barefoot as warmup- 3.5K in 16.38 (4.45min/km). Didn't feel great but pace was good.

First rep- 2K barefoot in 7.55 (400m splits 95, 96, 94, 95, 94).

Jog 600m in 3 minutes (barefoot).

Second rep- 2K barefoot in 7.47 (400m splits 95, 95, 93, 92, 91). This was harder work than expected, the last lap was slipping into anaerobic.

2.7K warmdown run back to work (in shoes) in 12.37 (4.39min/km).

22 degrees, cloudy with a cool northerly breeze.

The numbers are good but I just don't feel fresh- my sleep this week has been poor. If I don't sleep well tonight I might take tomorrow off (was only going to do 5Kish anyway) so I can be properly fresh for Saturday- would really like to nail the Striders 10K.

Recovery.

WEDNESDAY 4/5/05, 3PM, 11.5K (57.02- 4.58min/km), WEEK TO DATE 33K

Slipped out for the usual office->LCNP 10K reversed->office course, on a stomach still full of corporate lunch, which made for a very ugly run indeed. About 20 dgrees and 60% humidity.

I'd better feel better tomorrow!

Intervals- 10 x 600s.

TUESDAY 3/5/05, 5.30AM, 15.5K- WEEK TO DATE 21.5K

Arranged to meet Vat at Rotary track for a new session- 10 x 600m with 1 minute jogging recovery, starting at 6am. So after 4.5 hours sleep I caught the train to Artarmon and ran the 5K to the track as warmup. Damned cold at Rotary- about 11 degrees with a thick dew.

We didn't really know how to pace ourselves for 600s, so figured we'd take the first one out at about 5K pace and develop it from there.

I showed no ill effects from Sunday's long run, as you can see:

2.28
2.25
2.25
2.22
2.21
2.18
2.16
2.15
2.15
2.13

2.24 for 600 is 4min/km so that is roughly 5K race pace. So the first three reps were probably a bit on the slow side but not bad after that.


I was aerobic for the first 8 with form improving on each one, the 9th was slipping into the red a bit, and on the last one I bashed it from 200m out to finish frothing at the mouth and down on my haunches. 400m splits were about 98 for the first couple down to 89 for the last one. I think this session is VERY good for raising your aerobic capacity and teaching you to hold form at the same time. Vat and I agreed that if we were running 400s instead, we'd have gone anaerobic quite bit earlier and the last few reps would have been hell, but 600s are subtly different.

Did 3.6K warmdown on the track- first 2K barefoot until the cold made my toes go numb, so I put the shoes back on.

Great session. Well pleased. Thanks Vat!

Recovery.

MONDAY 2/5/05, 2PM- 6K (29.00, 4.45min/km)

System check- ran office->Waterloo park-> return. Reasonably hilly. Didn't really want to run but as Vat likes to say, you can run the crap out of your legs and I felt I needed to do that, given I want to be sharp for speedwork tomorrow. Surprised myself by knocking over the 6.1K at under 4.50 pace without pushing too hard- just tried to be "solid" without making myself breathe too hard. Didn't feel too sharp on uphills but my heart rate didn;t take off either, which is a very good sign for me, recovery wise.

About 20 degrees. Took my singlet off after about 2K.

Intervals with Vat tomorrow- then I'll really know how I'm recovering from the big run yesterday.

Long Run- 60K.

SUNDAY 1/5/05, 6am- 60K (5 hours 14 minutes, 5.14min/km), WEEKLY TOTAL 176.5K

Did 60K with Pierre Van Heerden's Comrades training group plus a few hangers on- Spud and Mr Every. The route was Hornsby- Mt White- return via the old Pacific Highway. No shortage of hills.

Cool to start with (11 C) rising to 20 C at the end. I felt pretty damned ordinary for the first 35K or so (given my hard sessions Friday and Saturday, no surprise) but on the climb back up towards Cowan found myself in second place behind Spud. In terms of running time we went through the marathon on 3.42 and the 50K in 4.24, both quicker than Canberra, although we did have drink stops (there was a support car) which were not taken into account. The last 18K were done in 90 minutes, so 5min/km, and the last three or four Ks were all comfortably under 5min/km. Got a bit serious there! Negative split by about 3 minutes.

Tried to get by on little more than water- I had a can of creamed rice at about 20K, a pie at the Pie in the Sky (41K- to the horror of some of the others) and a slice of cake about 3K from the end. Happy with how I was moving as a result.

Thanks to Pierre for organising it and to the other runners and crew for making me work hard!

WEEKLY TOTAL 176.5K

Very happy with how the week turned out- well, how the weekend turned out anyway. I'll cut back to about 80 or 90K this week with a bit more speed focus and try to nail the Striders 10K on Saturday.