The Bay in the Morning.

MONDAY 31/10/05, 6AM, 10K, 4 HOURS SLEEP

Wow, I actually got up and ran before work. That hasn't happened in months. Like last Saturday, my route was basically a warm up, lap of the Bay and warm down. About 18 degrees and humidity in the 90s- Timbrell Park was wreathed in mist as I went by. Unlike Saturday's run, I felt pretty ordinary from the start and contemplated walking a few times- quite similar to last Tuesday's ugly experience. However, I kept grinding away, and after I passed the Rowers I managed to crank out a couple of 4.40min/kms which got me round the Bay in 34.04, 9 seconds slower than Saturday.

Felt very ordinary after I finished, even after I'd showered and had a bite to eat. The fever's still there.

Saw KT near the CR 1K mark. Nice to see a friendly face.

Bay.

SATURDAY 29/10/05, 6PM, 10K, WEEK TO DATE 27.5K, 5 HOURS SLEEP

51 minutes, including a lap of the Bay in 33.55 (4.51min/km). Humid evening with a northerly breeze. Pacing was all over the place- my first km on the Bay felt like surprisingly hard work, and it turned out to be 4.24... so I backed off a bit, then picked it up again....

Half an Hour.

THURSDAY 27/10/05, 6PM, 6K (29.40, 4.52min/km), 4.5 HOURS SLEEP

Humid evening, about 21 degrees, ran from the office to Waterloo Park and back. Felt pretty ordinary on the way out (turnaround 15.19) but a bit of positive self talk got me back with a 1 minute negative split.

The Bug Bites Back.

TUESDAY 25/10/05, 12.30PM, 11.5K (62.44, 5.27min/km), 5 HOURS SLEEP

A lap of LCNP on a hot and humid day (27 degrees, sunny but had rained half an hour beforerhand). Started out at a good pace, judging by recent form (25.44 at the weir) but I was working very hard- heart was pounding and sweat was dripping off me with every footstrike. Started to back off, but coming off the Porter Creek bridge with about a mile to go, all my energy drained away and I walked the kilometre from the bridge to the top gates, then slowly jogged back into the office.

I suspect that, given the fever, the heat and humidity today reallygot to me. Will make for an interesting couple of months ahead, with summer spproaching....

Bush Running Weekend.

SATURDAY 22/10/05, 4PM, 9K, WEEK TO DATE 32K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

I was up in the Blue Mountains, so ran a loop of the Shaws Ridge trail. This is a sandy firetrail that drops to the bottom of a small rainforesty valley, rolls along with a few gentle undulations, then climbs to the top of the escarpment with a long gradual climb and comes back to the start with more undulations. It was a humid day with some drizzle and I felt a bit tired at the start, but got going after a few minutes and got around in 48 minutes or so. Felt good at the end.

SUNDAY 23/10/05, 4PM, 8K, WEEKLY TOTAL 40K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

Out and back along the sublime Lady Carrington's Drive in the Royal National Park- a gently rolling trail along the banks of the Hacking River in a rainforest setting, with a rock escarpment leaping upwards on the non-river side. Warm, dry day. Ran in my newly acquired Skins tights- I thought these would be hot but, surprisingly, they were quite comfortable.

Took about a kilometre to get going but was moving well once I warmed up.

Health wise not a bad weekend- had a bout of the bug on Sunday morning (achy, no appetite, sweating) but was okay after lunch.

LCNP and the Herrmannator.

THURSDAY 20/10/05, 12.30PM, 11.5K (56.47, 4.56min/km), WEEK TO DATE 23K, 5 HOURS SLEEP

Another lap of Lane Cove National Park, on another cool, humid day (got a burst of drizzle just as I set off), but I was sweating heavily enough to run shirtless. Managed to get around a bit quicker than Tuesday, which is good- getting back into the range of my "old" training pace. I paced it the same as Tuesday- steadyish for most of the way, then picked it up for the last mile, once I crossed the bridge on the way back in.

Just on the other side of Scribbly Gum on the way out I bumped into the Herrmannator on his own run, so we ran together for a couple of Ks and chatted about various ultras, past and future.

2006.

Been thinking about what to do next year, when I'm healthy and ready to compete again. I've compiled a rough list of the big stuff I want to do next year....

January 8: Bogong-Hotham (probably just the first half, depending on fitness)
March 11: Six Foot Track number nine, and it'll be a PB
April 8-9: NSW 24 Hour Rogaine, Goobang National Park
May 13-14: Australian Rogaine Championship, Victoria
August 12: Twelve Foot Track 90K
September (date TBA): Glasshouse 100 miles, in under 24 hours
October 13-14: World Rogaine Championship, NSW
December 8-9: Coast-Kosciuszko, 245K

Plus a sub 40 minute 10K.

I have no interest in running a road marathon next year, or the Gold Coast 100K. I probably did too many ultras/rogaines over winter this year- next year winter will be spent focusing on consistent training, after using the two rogaines to lay a big endurance base- the intention being to arrive at Glasshouse in best-ever shape.

Small Victory.

TUESDAY 18/10/05, 12.30PM, 11.5K (57.15, 4.59min/km), 5 HOURS SLEEP

Had a bad night- very tired, soaked the bed with sweat when asleep. I've changed my mindset a bit; when the fever occurs and I sweat like the devil, then I'm sweating out the disease; when I feel nauseous and can't finish a meal, then I'm digesting the disease. Trying to be positive.

Did my usual 11.5K lap of Lane Cove National Park at lunch. Didn't feel too bad- didn't fade on the uphills much- but the sweat was pouring off me as though it was 35 degrees, not the cloudy 19 degrees it actually was. Cruised around at a "not pushing, but not mucking around" pace and feeling pretty reasonable, until Porters Creek Bridge on the way back, when I noticed I had a chance of dipping under 5 min/km, and picked it up a bit over the final mile.

Getting back to breaking 5min/km on my usual training runs is a small victory. Hopefully a sign of progress in my recovery from the virus, but I'm happy just to take it as a psychological boost.

One thing I have noticed is that my powers of recovery are much diminished. On Sunday I had sore quads from my lap of the Bay on Saturday. Not good.

Lap of the Bay.

SATURDAY 15/10/05, 3PM, 10K, WEEKLY TOTAL 27.5K, 7 HOURS SLEEP

Starting from Croydon, ran a lap of the Bay Run on a windy, humid afternoon. Form was okay, pretty tired though. 52 minutes for 10K all up.

LCNP.

THURSDAY 13/10/05, 1.30PM, 11.5K (1.01, 5.19min/km), WEEK TO DATE 17.5K, 5 HOURS SLEEP

Lap of Lane Cove National Park on a warm afternoon. Took my singlet off, switched off mentally and just cruised. Tired at the end- the climb from Porters Creek to the gates was quite slow.

Short Run.

TUESDAY 11/10/05, 5PM, 6K (32.08, 5.16min/km), 4 HOURS SLEEP

Work- Waterloo Park and back. Slow and a bit tired, but form felt not bad for a bloke who has hardly run in a month. Hot, humid evening.

Glandular Fever strikes.

After being violently ill late on the night of Monday October 3rd and through the 4th (taking my first sick day from work in memory) I went to the quack's on Wednesday the 5th, who took a blood sample. A few tests later and I know I have Glandular Fever and have had it for at least a month- ie, I raced with it at Glasshouse 100 miler last month, although there's no way to say if or how it affected my performance. I'm amazed I got through the long training weekend on the Great North Walk in reasonable form.

As a result, I have cancelled all race plans for the next two months at least and am limited to "light" training- a run of no more than an hour every second day at most (good thing my GP is a marathoner himself or I'd be even more restricted, I imagine). No speedwork. Having seen a few people come down with GF, I've no desire to risk prolonging the illness for months on end. I'll have another blood test in a couple of weeks. No alcohol in that time either.

This means no Coast-Kosciuszko, no Great North 100 (assuming I wanted to do it), probably no Bogong-Hotham. Hopefully I'll be right in time to get fit for Six Foot Track.

To say I'm unimpressed is an understatement. In a year of missed goals, to have my running year ended abruptly cuts like a knife to the guts.

GNW Training Long Weekend.

SATURDAY 1/10/05, 12.30PM, 26K, WEEK TO DATE 42K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

SUNDAY 2/10/05, 9AM, 29K, WEEKLY TOTAL 71K, 8 HOURS SLEEP

MONDAY 3/10/05, 9AM, 24K, 8 HOURS SLEEP

Blue Dog and I checked out sections of the GNW 100 course over the long weekend, ably assisted by super crew Mel and Bernie. Some severe navigational issues and tough terrain, summarised by the fact that the 27K on Saturday (start- CP1) took 4.58 (with a 6 hour cutoff for that leg), the 29K on Sunday took 5.57 (CP2 Congewai- CP3 The Basin, 6 hour cutoff) and the 24K on Sunday took 4.00 (Girrakool- finish, 5 hour cutoff). All up, 15 hours of running in three days.

Anyone contemplating the GNW had better think very carefully about it.

I had a tremendous weekend away with friends, getting in some running over new trails, having a few drinks and good food, etc. I was very tired on Monday and had been nursing a sore throat for a few days prior, plus night sweats since the GH 100 miler. Came down quite ill late Monday night/Tuesday morning. I thought I ran all right otherwise, considering recent history.

I'll be writing more detailed thoughts on the GNW course soon.