Intervals- 2 x 1600, 2 x 800, 4 x 400

MONDAY 22/1/07, 5AM, 15.5K, 4 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1120

Shogun and I did a 5K warmup before embarking on this session at Glenbrook Oval.

6 x 100m strides to warm up, felt fairly good for someone who had run 7 hours before and had only had 4 hours sleep.

For the 1600s I wanted to keep under 4min/km pace (6.24) and maybe ease it into the mid 6.10s if possible. The 800s, again I wanted to be properly under 4min/km pace (3.12), hopefully close to 3 flat. The 400s, low 80s.

1600s:
6.24
6.22

800s:
3.05
3.05

400s:
84
84
82
80

Easy couple of ks warmdown.

Most of those numbers are pretty decent. The 1600s could have been quicker but it was a battle to hold 4min/km- might not have warmed up enough. Anyway, they were quicker than Virtual's 1600s last week!

Good start to the week.

Another 100K Week, Just...

Between the heat and work I had to do some interesting running over the weekend to bring up 100K for the week, all the while rueing the missed 30K with Shogun on Friday....

Saturday lunchtime I ran from the restaurant (Warrimoo) to home via Long Angle Trail and Glenbrook Lagoon. 12K in 35 degrees or so. I took it veeeerrrrrryyyy easy, walked a couple of hills when I started to overheat, and doused myself with water every few minutes (not often you take a bottle on a 12K run, and refill it 3 or so times along the way....) About 70 minutes of running, but finished with no distress, which is a pleasing contrast to other hot weather runs lately. That look me to 75K for the week.

Sunday morning I got to the restaurant early, set up and left the staff to run things for a bit while I ran down Rickard Rd and north along Long Angle Trail to Singles Ridge Rd at Winmalee. I'd only once before run this section of Long Angle and that was when Shogun, Sarge and I did it last year.

Saw some dirt bikers camping on Fitzgeralds Creek with campfires burning- in total fire ban weather! Reported them to the firies when I got back.

The northern stretch of Long Angle is much more aesthetically pleasing than the southern end- it's a pleasant sandy path through ferns and high trees surrounded by a small valley. The trees and escarpment kept the worst of the heat away too. Some big hills though! 13K, easy pace.

Sunday night ran home via the road around 10pm, normally this is an 8K run but I added some extra to make it 12.25K (62 mins, 5.04min/km) and bring the weekly total to 100.25K.

Noice.

Night Commute.

FRIDAY 19/1/07, 9.30PM, 8K (39.55, 4.58min/km), WEEK TO DATE 63K, 6 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1120 (new shoes!)

Was down to run 30K with Shogun this morning, but we ended up bagging it for some extra sleep. Spent the day in town on a course so ran home from the restaurant at closing time. Warm and humid.

In the restaurant early tomorrow (7am) and the day is forecast to be 40 degrees, so I could be running late at night again. Tentatively pencilled in a 30Ker with Shogun for early Sunday morning to beat the heat on that day- which will bump this week over 100K again.

Quick Update- Fun and Good Training.

Typing up a full report from the Kathmandu Max Adventure Adventure Race last Sunday so haven't blogged, but in the interim...

Sunday- Max Adventure with Shogun, 5hrs 37, 37th place of 125 teams through the lower Blue Mountains. Street orienteering, 18K MTB orienteering, 1.5K kayak, 7K trek/ trail run, 3.2K kayak, 1.75K trail run. Heaps of fun!

Finished with 114K for the week.

Tuesday- 21K with Shogun (both feeling ratshit from the race)- roa drun from Glenbrook to Valley Heights and return. 1.51.20, 5.15min/km.
Wednesday- 5K easy on the zig zag trails around home in fucking hot weather.
Thursday- 29K with Shogun from his place around to Mt Riverview and up Long Angle Trail twice. 2.33, 5.20min/km.

Week so far- 55K.

More later.

Commute.

SATURDAY 13/1/07, 1PM, 12K (1.03, 5.11 min/km), WEEK TO DATE 103K, 6 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1110

Ran from the restaurant to home via Long Angle Trail. Warm day, 28 degrees. Quads felt a bit tired from yesterday, felt like a bit of hard work.

Cracked 100K for the week with a day to go. Woot.

Speedwork- 400s.

FRIDAY 12/1/07, 5AM, 15K, WEEK TO DATE 91K, 5 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1110

Speeedwork with Shogun.

Originally we were going to do a ladder- 2 x 1 mile, 2 x 800m, 4 x 400m.

Slow and sluggish 4.75K warmup round the streets of Glenbrook and trails of Glenbrook Lagoon in the predawn twilight.

6 x 100m strides to get things going.

Then into the first mile, and I was battling. My goal was to run sub 4 min/km pace (6.24 for 1.6K) but at 800m I was 10 seconds off the pace and stopped. Shogun ran out his mile and after a quick chat we switched to an 8 x 400 session with 60 second recoveries.

My first couple of reps were woeful, but the last few I was really stretching out and felt strong:

89
90
87
87
85
84
82
80

Funny thing is, I didn't feel like I was really bashing myself hard, except for the last 200m of the last 400- I just couldn't get going any faster. Possibly just fatigue from the long ones on Tuesday and Thursday- glad I got some good signs from the session.

Warmdown was back along the route we warmed up over- but a couple of minutes quicker.

Mitchell's Pass Double- 26K.

THURSDAY 11/1/07, 5AM, 26K (2.22.56, 5.30min/km), WEEK TO DATE 76K, 4 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1110

Shogun and I headed out at 5am for our second long one of the week. We discarded our usual trek into Euroka and the Blue Mts National Park for a road run with better mobile reception (Shogun's wife is almost due)- our old River Run with a second, shorter loop tacked on to ensure we ran up Mitchell's Pass twice. Our route is here.

Felt pretty ordinary on the first loop, some quite slow kilometres in there. Was pretty ordinary going up Mitchell's and took a quick stop back in Glenbrook- after that, I felt quite a bit better and a couple of sub 5 minute Ks slipped in there. Was moving well at the end, although Shogun pushed to the top of Lucasville Rd hill ahead of me and got to the end first.

Two long runs for the week. Good stuff.

Florabella.

WEDNESDAY 10/1/07, 12.30PM, 7.5K, WEEK TO DATE 50K, 7 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES BROOKS CASCADIAS

Did the Florabella Pass trail that loops out the back of Warrimoo and heads down to Blaxland.

Well, it's a fine bushwalk, but no sort of run- the 4.5K from the restaurant to the exit at Ross Crescent, Blaxland, took 50 minutes! Lots of steps, overgrown sections, fallen trees etc. Ran back along the highway to the restaurant again.

Nepean Lookout- 30K.

TUESDAY 9/1/07, 4.30AM, 30.5K (2.50, 5.35min/k), 5.5 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1100

Had 30K to Nepean Lookout pencilled in with Shogun. To fit his work and family committments, this meant a start time of... 4.30am.

As a result, we headed up the Oaks Firetrail in the pre dawn darkness, managing to avoid potholes. I wore my Nathan HPL 020 hydration pack for this jaunt.

Got to the turnaround just after it got properly light and could appreciate the view, then on the way back picked up the pace, dropping in a couple of sub 5min/Ks, but the climb out of the Gorge to the gates slowed proceedings down quite a bit.

Got home and had a big breakfast and a doze. Not an exciting run, but good to log a 30Ker.

To Work.

MONDAY 8/1/07, 3PM, 12K (64.25, 5.20min/k), 10 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES: LOCO MOJO

Slept in till 10am and it did me a power of good.

In the afternoon, ran to work (Warrimoo) via the road to Blaxland and then the Long Angle Trail, feeling pretty good for a change. 6 minutes faster than the same run last Friday.

Blue Mountains Joggers 10K.

SUNDAY 7/1/06, 7.15AM, 12K 2K warmup, 10K race), WEEK LY TOTAL 66.25K, SHOES: ASICS 1100

Around 20 degrees at the start with a little drizzle- steady rain set in around 11am.
Bigger field this month!

Rob Spilling had a very good race- just missed sub 34, best time he's run for a while.

I had entered the Coastal CLassic 12 hour, but passed on doing it given my illness earlier in the week. Didn't mind doing the local 10K instead.

I was flat from the start and started to drop off at around 3K- got to the turnaround in 22.24 and a couple of 4.40s dropped in on the way back to ensure I was slower than last month- final time 45.43.

More sleep required- barely had any since taking over the restaurant.

The cup of tea at the end was much appreciated!

Splits
1K 4.30
2K 8.49 (4.18)
3K 13.18 (4.29)
4K 17.50 (4.32)
5K 22.24 (4.34)
6K 27.04 (4.39)
7K 31.45 (4.41)
8K 36.39 (4.54)
9K 41.28 (4.48)
10K 45.43 (4.15)

Double Day.

FRIDAY 5/1/06, 5.30AM, 17.25K (1.38, 5.42min/km), 4 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES: LOCO MOJO

Shogun and I did Mt Portal, first time for a while. Felt pretty lethargic from the start- lack of sleep and still not quite over the food poisoning.

Those big hills seemed insurmountable today as a result and we were 10 minutes slower than our best time over the course. Even splits though, 49 minutes each way.

FRIDAY 5/1/06, 1PM, 12K, WEEK TO DATE 54.25K, SHOES: LOCO MOJO

Got a couple more hours sleep and ran into the restaurant via Long Angle in the middle of the day, when it was 31 degrees. Felt like shit- trashed legs, hot, tired.

Obviously not over the illness earlier in the week- so decided to opt out of the Coastal Classic 12 hour. Might have a go at the Blue Mts Joggers 10K on Sunday and see how things are going then.

25K Round Euroka and the Oaks.

THURSDAY 4/1/06, 5AM, 25K (2.18, 5.31min/km), 4 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES: LOCO MOJO

First run since the food poisoning, although I did sweat buckets at Spin on Tuesday night.

Shogun was back from holidays so we ran our usual loop via the Causeway and up the Oaks, this time we turned around at the Woodford Gate which is a few hundred metres beyond the usual turn at the Oaks Picnic Ground- this was due to our mutual agreement that a 25K run just looks better in the diary than a 24.5K run. Return via Bennetts Ridge and Euroka Campground, up the big hill, down to the Causeway, up the next big hill and home.

Felt fairly good myself, we didn't push the pace but did knock out a few sub 4.50min/Ks coming down Bennetts. Shogun was moving well early but later we slowed a bit as he got a stitch. It was raining lightly as we set off and there was fog lingering in the streets, gorges and on the hills till after were done.

Good to be back.

Chucky.

SUNDAY 31/12/06, 9AM, 12K, WEEK TO DATE 84.5K, 7 HOURS SLEEP, LOCO MOJO

Ran to work via Long Angle Trail, stomach churning and feeling decidedly under par.

Originally planned to run over the 6FT on New Year's Day, but spent Sunday night doubled over with fever and gut cramps and chucking up my lunch. Slept like a dead man till midday on Monday and ate very little for the rest of the day- a couple of slices of toast at first, then in the evening some garlic bread and a little pasta. Still feeling crappy- thought it might have been food poisoning but it's dragged on a little bit too long for it to feel like that. Might get some running in tomorrow, touch wood.