Mister G's Running Blog

Mt Portal 28K.

2007-11-14T00:38:00.000+11:00

TUESDAY 13/11/07, 28K, WEEK TO DATE 35K

Night run (7.30pm start), from home to Mt Portal and back via Glenbrook Causeway. Slightly different course to Sunday's run, and slightly quicker (6.03 vs 6.06 pace). The view from Portal Lookout in the dark is really quite something. Felt reasonably good, the last 4Ks (gradual uphill) were banged out at a fairly consistent 5.30 pace.

Happy with this run.

Monday 12/11- 4K Kayak, 7K Run

2007-11-13T16:53:00.000+11:00

Was going to paddle two laps of the Bridges tonight and follow with a recovery run as well.

Was trialling a new (cheaper) kayak tonight with no rudder- got about 2K down the river before getting the shits with it and turning back. Lack of rudder makes a huge difference.

Ran the 6.8K round the Bridges at 4.55min/k pace afterwards.

Sunday 11/11- 27K.

2007-11-11T23:15:00.000+11:00

Been busy with restaurant stuff all week- staff illnesses, exams etc. No exercise since Monday till I did a run to Mt Portal and back on Sunday, a slightly shorter route than last week (skipped the diversion to Euroka). 27K in 2.45. 6 minute pace. Some good hills there.

Monday 5/11- 12K Kayak on the Nepean River.

2007-11-06T10:16:00.000+11:00

47 and 49 minutes for each 6K lap- half of which was paddled into a biting south westerly. Loved it.

30.5K.

2007-11-04T21:44:00.000+11:00

SUNDAY 4/11/07, 9.30AM, 30.5K, WEEKLY TOTAL 81K

Home- Glenbrook- Euroka- Mt Portal- Glenbrook- home. Very hilly. No breakfast beforehand. Got very ugly.

Saturday 3/11- 6K Kayak.

2007-11-04T21:40:00.000+11:00

Too busy to cycle Friday, but knocked out 6K in 46 minutes in the kayak on Saturday arvo.

The bridges circuit is a popular one for local paddlers as boats have an 8 knot speedlimit in this area- so less chance of being "buzzed" or copping a nasty wake from a speedboat. Nevertheless, I do intend to paddle up Nepean Gorge (under Mt Portal) in the near future- weekdays are better than weekends for that sort of lark, not as much water traffic.

30K Highway Run.

2007-11-02T14:29:00.000+11:00

THURSDAY 1/11/07, 4.30PM, 30K, WEEK TO DATE 50.5K

Very unedifying run from Parramatta along the Great Western. Had intentions of going all the way home (45K) but had enough of the fumes and bleak scenery by Penrith and called it quits.

Trotted along easily enough at around 5.30 pace. Seemed like a time-efficient way of getting in a long run but.... won't try it again though.

Wednesday 31/10- 17K Ride.

2007-11-01T11:08:00.000+11:00

First road bike ride since August.

I intend to make Wednesday and Friday cycling days, but things were a bit busy today in both jobs and I only had time to ride from Emu Plains to the restaurant via the Nepean River drive and Lapstone Hill. Got up the hill reasonably well given recent lack of riding (outside spin classes) but my back was pretty sore.

17K in just over 40 minutes.

20.5K, Quicker.

2007-10-30T23:53:00.000+11:00

TUESDAY 30/10/07, 20.5K (1.41, 4.59min/km)

Set off later than usual- 8pm- after being held up at the restaurant. My now-standard 3 laps of the Nepean Bridges was on the menu tonight.

Warm enough tonight to not need a shirt. Started off feeling a bit rough- acidic stomach, burping up some nasty stuff- but on the second lap got into a groove and picked up the pace more the third time round. Surprised myself by dipping just under 5min/km at the finish. Nice improvement- previous two weeks this run was at 5.11 and 5.09 pace respectively.

Recovered nicely from Sunday's crash-and-burn.

Monday 29/10- 12K Kayak.

2007-10-30T11:46:00.000+11:00

Two laps of the Nepean Bridges, starting at 6.30pm. Felt good although my hands suffered a fair bit- some blistering today. First lap was 46 minutes, the second 47. Coming back to finish the second lap the sun had set and I was paddling towards the silhouette of Mt Portal, framed against the purple and orange twilight.

It was near dark on the water but the slapping of waves against the kayak and the slash of the paddle striking the water were clear in the near-silence. It was fantastic and, dare I say it, romantic. All five of my senses were very alive for those 15 minutes.

Sunday 18K- Hilly, Humid, Horrible.

2007-10-30T11:37:00.000+11:00

SUNDAY 28/10/07, 7AM, 18K, WEEKLY TOTAL 60.5K

Shogun and I set out to run a 22K loop we'd looked at for a while- from ym front door, down Rickard Rd to Long Angle Trail, up to Singles Ridge Rd at Yellow Rock, down to Illingworth Rd and descending an old bridle trail to the notorious Riverside Trail by the Nepean, between Emu Heights and Yarramundi. Long uphill on an old powerline service trail to Mt Riverview, down the Elizabeth St trail to Long Angle again, and out. About half road, half dirt, with a 4K long uphill from the river to Mt Riverview shops. I even had ambitious plans of running 2 laps of this course.

Early on I was battling with the heat and humidity- when we reached Illingworth Rd we could see the whole Nepean Valley below us and 'twas wreathed in mist, and when we dropped down to the Riverside Trail we were in full glare of the sun as well, no shade. The Illingworth bridle trail that drops down to the river seems to be a secret of the local mountain bikers, very rough underfoot but some great views down to the water.

I did a lot of walking from here and Shogun started to get oedema (swelling) in his fingers from dehydration. He eventually took off back to his place to get the car and gave me a lift home from the Mt Riv shops.

Not a good experience. Bloody hilly loop- I'll post map and profile tonight- but I think over summer I'll need to do my longest runs at night....

Saturday 27/10- 6K Kayak in 47 minutes.

2007-10-30T11:35:00.000+11:00

22K Road Run.

2007-10-25T15:02:00.000+10:00

THURSDAY 25/10/07, 9AM, 22K (1.58, 5.22min/km), WEEK TO DATE 42.5K

Worked from home today. Set out on a drizzly, cool morning around 9am to run from home to Winamlee Shops and back, via Waratah and Tusculum Roads and the Hawkesbury Rd bikepath.

The coursestarts at 280m ASL and rolls a bit for the first couple of Ks, then there is a steady climb to around 400m ASL at the Hawkesbury Rd Reservoir. Then a rolling descent to 310m ASL again. I tacked on an extra couple of kilometres by running out to the end of White Cross Rd and back once I'd reached the shops.

My legs were wondering what the hell was going on for the first couple of kms (quads still pounded from Spin y'day) then I got into a pretty good rhythm for such hilly ground. Felt a bit rough on the way back but overall a pretty good pace for a fairly hilly course, quite pleasing.

Wednesday Lunchtime Spin Class.

2007-10-24T15:51:00.000+10:00

Another class at FF Market St. Bashed myself fairly well....

Scary to report, I spotted the long lost BOOF in the gym there.... who remembers Boof?

20.5K.

2007-10-24T15:48:00.000+10:00

TUESDAY 23/10/07, 7PM, 20.5K (1.44, 5.09min/km)

Same course as last Thursday on a muggy night- the Nepean Bridges, 3 laps thereof. Got round about a minute and a half quicker than last Thursday. Legs felt a bit off for the first couple of Ks as a result of the lunchtime spin class, but then I got going fairly well.

Tuesday Spin Class.

2007-10-24T15:45:00.000+10:00

Did bugger all on the weekend for a few different reasons. Back into it Tuesday 23/10 with a lunchtime Spin Class at Fitness First Market St.

20.5K.

2007-10-19T00:06:00.000+10:00

THURSDAY 18/10/07, 7PM, 20.5K (1.46, 5.11min/km), WEEK TO DATE 29.5K

Western Sydney's rough equivalent of the Bay Run is the Bridges on the Nepean- 6.85K from the Victoria Bridge up the Nepean River to the M4 Bridge, crossover and back. The Penrith side is on bike path, the Emu Plains side either bike path or (my preference) grass. Early in the morning a lot of runners trot around here.

Wanted a faster tempo run tonight so did 3 laps of the Bridges at solid but not hard pace. A bit spooky on the Penrith side- running past trees at forehead height which are full of bats... I was hoping to get round at sub 5min/km but didn't quite manage it. I'll get there again before long.

Good training day.

Thursday Morning Kayak.

2007-10-19T00:00:00.000+10:00

Last weekend I hired a Dagger Discovery kayak for a month from Horizon Line at Penrith, to see if I could fit regular kayaking into the schedule before making the decision to buy one.

12K paddle this morning on the Nepean River in 104 minutes.

Night 9K.

2007-10-17T09:40:00.000+10:00

My usual 9K local route (half bush, half road) done at night with the PT Apex . Only my second night bush run since Glasshouse in September last year (the other being the Turon Rogaine in April). Kind of spooky to hear unseen creatures crash off into the bush, but quite nifty also.

Felt reasonable, a little tired, puttered around at 6min/km pace.

43.5K.

2007-10-14T22:06:00.000+10:00

SUNDAY 14/10/07, 7AM, 43.5K

Nathan and I started from the Long Angle trailhead on Winnicoopa Ave, Blaxland for a somewhat over marathon-distance session- first run for me since the Upper Murray Challenge.

The route we were to cover followed Long Angle FT all the way to Singles Ridge Rd at Yellow Rock, then dogleg into Yellow Rock Creek FT up to the bottom of Lee Rd at Winmalee. Turn around and go back for 22K, then repeat it all again.

Very sandy underfoot much of the way. Knee was sore for the first couple of hours then gradually improved. We puttered along okay for a few hours but a bit slower than anticipated, which meant I decided to turn off at the Rickard Rd trailhead on the way back and run directly home, which took about a kilometre off the total distance for me. Faded fairly badly at around 38K- it got fairly hot out there also.

Still, 'tis done. Not a fast course- lots of short steep hills and sandy, loose footing. Good to log another long run, en route to Bogong and Six Foot Track.

6K Kayak.

2007-10-13T23:58:00.000+10:00

No running since the Upper Murray Challenge. A few knee twinges being worked on with new orthotics, anti inflammatories and acupuncture, plus some staff shortages at the night job.

Did an easy 6K paddle on the Nepean today with Mel in a double kayak.

Upper Murray Challenge.

2007-10-08T23:13:00.000+10:00

... or perhaps better titled "how I bullshitted my way through an offroad multisport race off zero mtb/kayak training..."

Still pretty satisfying though!

The Upper Murray Challenge ( website ) is a multisport race in the foothills of the western Snowy Mountains- starting in Khancoban and finishing in Corryong. It commences with a 38K mountain bike ride before transitioning to kayaks for a 26K paddle down the Swampy Plain and Murray Rivers to the hamlet of Towong, then donning the running shoes for a 600m of vertical to the summit of Mt Elliott and descending to finish at Corryong College.

As regulars might note, training of late has consisted of bugger all cycling and definitely no mountain biking (not that I ever had any mtb skills to begin with) and one weekend of whitewater paddling at Penrith, otherwise no paddling.

So why try this event? I liked the look of the video on the website and wanted an excuse to get down to the High Country again.

So Mel and I drove down Friday 5th October with the race starting 9am the following morning, with my old Learsport mtb and a hired kayak strapped to the roof of the car. After a 5.5 hour drive we arrived in Corryong for dinner and registration before driving 20 minutes to our digs in Khancoban. From most of the Khancoban area you can see the snow capped Main Range soaring into the distant sky. Closer at hand, I studied all the bikes and kayaks atop vehicles in both towns and concluded that I had just about the crappiest equipment of anyone in the event! I quite expected to be last off the bike and close to last out of the kayak, then to pass a few people in the run.

38K MTB
9am Saturday morning I was at the tail of the bunch as we rode out of Khancoban- according to the start sheet 85 solo competitors and 23 teams. We started climbing on a steep firetrail right away and I found myself passing people on the uphills, then they'd all come past as I inched down the other side- this course had a lot of steep downhill. Shaped more or less like a dumbbell, the course described a loop through the hills behind the town on a mix of firetrail and singletrack before descending past the kayak transition area and then into the farm "Khancoban Station" and riding through paddocks to another hill loop, returning to the transition and hitting the kayaks.

A long downhill early on gave me the heebie jeebies- I had the brakes half on to slow my descent and the wheels locked, however I was going too quickly to put my foot down. In a triumph of arse over class I managed to "ski" the bike to the bottom and went on my way. After that, though, I did the "hike-a-bike" thing on the big downhills. I found myself regularly swapping positions with a collection of Army guys- I'd pass on the uphills and they'd pass on the downs.

One minor routefinding error after being directed down the wrong track by a marshall, otherwise the course was thoroughly well marked and interesting and I got off the bike right near the back of the pack but with a couple still behind me. It was just after midday.

26K KAYAK
Spray skirt, vest and helmet on and into the kayak, a few hundred metres downstream from Khancoban Dam. We'd been told the night before that the water level of the Swampy Plain River was too low for safe paddling, so Snowy Hydro (main sponsor) was releasing extra water down the spillway to raise the river's level for the race.

The river did not have difficult rapids, but there were regular "gravel races" where the river bed was shallow enough to scrape the kayak and the surface was choppy and turbulent. More tricky though was the velocity of the water, emphasised several times in the race literature. There were always currents cutting across the river from one side to another which did require good river-reading skills, and my kayak got rolled twice early on before I got used to the patterns of the flow. The first time the kayak was caught between the regular river flow and the swirl of an eddy on the bank and flipped- and being snowmelt, the water was definitely cold. I dragged the kayak to the bank, tipped out the water and resumed. About half an hour later I came to a near u turn in the river, took it too sharply and a current turned the kayak sideways and over again, but I was underway reasonably soon.

I passed a couple of competitors on this leg, folks who had gotten into trouble with the currents or just had the wrong equipment, such as the Army guy who had a tiny whitewater kayak which was almost impossible to control. Physically it wasn't taxing, just mentally demanding from concentrating on the river's currents and I could have easily gone over four or five more times but saw the problem in time and corrected.

There were the occasional marshalls on the river banks, but for the most part my only company were the willows that entangled either side of the water- another potential risk if you didn't pay attention. Funnily enough I never noticed where the mighty Murray River joined the Swampy Plain River I had been paddling down; later I was told that the Murray was more or less a trickling creek at this point and was hard to spot from the water. Interesting.

I was aware that there was a cutoff at 3.30pm, 6K into the run leg. For that I figured I needed to be off the kayak around 2.30-2.45 just in case, so when at 1.45pm I passed under the Murray Valley Highway bridge with Mel and a marshal standing on it and they told me I was but halfway, the swearing started in earnest. The minutes ticking over on my watch assumed new importance, and when I steered the kayak into the transition at Towong Bridge it was 3pm and I was most unimpressed. Vest, helmet and spray skirt off, running shoes and hydration pack on and I was running up a dirt road with sweeping views of the Snowy Mountains in front of me and a cutoff looming.

25K RUN
Felt pretty good in the run and quickly passed an Army guy named Aaron. The view was fucking awesome and it helped inspire me in a fast start- the first couple of kilometres were 4.40s. However, the dirt road started to climb from there and I was losing time against the cutoff.

Mel drove past a few hundred metres before the cutoff checkpoint with Aaron in the passenger seat (DNF) and bike and kayak on the roof. I muttered something about arguing with the marshal if they tried to pull me out- my watch had ticked over to 3.32 and I was cursing the wrong turn I had been sent down on the mtb leg. However, they happily waved me on and I crossed into a farm paddock and started climbing across a grassy slope. Mel met me at the next marshal's location about a mile further on with an Up&Go (I had been subsisting on bananas and Up&Go drink all day) and informed me two fellows had just left the checkpoint, walking pretty slowly.

I ran until the course went up a narrow gully in amongst trees; above me I could see the two competitors nearing the top of the gully. Walking strongly after them I emerged onto a rough 4WD track which arched skyward towards the summit ridge of Mt Elliott, 600m above the river and 930m above sea level.

I quickly left the two dudes behind and, mixing the walking and running, emerged at the top of Mt Elliott where antennas maintained a vigil over the Khancoban and Corryong valleys. The track followed the Elliott Ridge, gradually descending but with enough uphill to keep you honest. Eventually I was dropping steeply through bush then farm paddocks towards the hamlet of Thowgla, negotiating a herd of dozens of cows as I did so.

Mel was waiting at Thowgla Hall. I took another Up&Go, dropped my hydration pack and set off for the last six kilomtres of road running into Corryong, chasing the three competitors I could just make out down the road. Although I made up plenty of ground, I didn't have enough room to haul them in and they finished a minute or two ahead as I ran into Corryong, pumped a fist, then under the finish banner in 8 hours 58 minutes.

Piece of cake. (-:

Fantastic, fun even which tests all the skills of an athlete in a wonderfully impressive setting. Support crew is essential and they have to be resourceful, as there is no aid of any kind on the course, even at transitions, which makes this somewhat unexpected finish Mel's as much as it is mine.

With a little skills work on the mtb and kayak and some better equipment I could easily take 90 minutes off my time next year....

23K.

2007-10-03T13:53:00.000+10:00

TUESDAY 2/10/07, 7PM, 23.5K (2.17, 5.49min/km), WEEK TO DATE 32.5K

Same route as last week- a little faster. Finished fairly strongly. Right knee sore- got some acupuncture etc on it this morning. Orthotics need replacing.

Very hilly down around Lapstone way.

9K.

2007-10-01T22:26:00.000+10:00

MONDAY 1/10/07, 7.30AM, 9K (58min, 6.24min/km)

Much better recovery from yesterday's long one than the prior weekend's- no real soreness, some stiffness and fatigue. Ran my 9K Sun Valley loop, which is about half road, half soft firetrail, with one big hill.

Took it veeeryyy easy and walked up Sun Valley Hill. Better than the shattered mess I was last Monday after 8 hours on the WildEndurance course the day before....

44.5K of 6FT.

2007-09-30T22:46:00.000+10:00

SUNDAY 30/0907, 7.45AM, 44.5K, WEEK TO DATE 97.25K

Nathan and I ran on the Six Foot Track on a warm day- start to Little River and return in about 6.5 hours.

Heaps of people on the Track today- turn a corner and more people. Must have been at least 8 tents at the Coxs River campground.

Ran all right on the way out, died badly on the way back.

Legs fairly tight tonight- right knee a bit tender also.

Friday Night Spin Class.

2007-09-28T23:06:00.000+10:00

Got the staff to cover for me again. First spin class in many months. Not very fit. Hurt like hell. legs thrashed.

Centennial Park- Very Tired.

2007-09-28T14:41:00.000+10:00

FRIDAY 28/9/07, 12.30PM, 8.75K, 5.01min/km, WEEK TO DATE 52.75K

Work in Surry Hills- lap of the inner fence at Centennial- return.

Intended to do two laps of the fence, but was verrrrry tired from about the 3K mark and battled from there.

Reverse Station Run.

2007-09-28T11:36:00.000+10:00

THURSDAY 27/9/07, 6.30PM, 10.75K, WEEK TO DATE 44K

Reverse of the morning run with a little variation at the start. Took it very easy- a bit over 60 minutes- uphill this time!

Station Run.

2007-09-27T12:57:00.000+10:00

THURSDAY 27/09/07, 7AM, 10.25K (50.32, 4.56min/km), WEEK TO DATE 33.25K

Did a Pilates course Wednesday lunchtime. Very tender in the abs Thursday. Was alo going to spin on the stationary bike for an hour Wednesday night after finishing work at the restaurant, but a family medical commitment saw me driving to the hospital instead and getting home around midnight.

This morning- my semi regular run to the station. Made an effort to push this one fairly hard for a course PB of around a minute on a morning that was oppressively humid...

Another run tonight.

23K.

2007-09-27T12:49:00.000+10:00

TUESDAY 25/09/07, 6.30PM, 23K (2.18, 5.46min/km)

Managed to get staff to cover me at the restaurant tonight and did a 23K road run, fairly unexciting- Warrimoo- Blaxland- Glenbrook- Lapstone- Knapsack Bridge- Emu Plains return, turning at the Whitton Place carpark at the bottom of Mitchells Pass.

Woefully slow but the longest road run I have done in many months (Cities Marathon excepted). Will get better.

Some very steep hills in Lapstone- the climb out of the Tunnel Gully Bridge is a right bugger.

50K of WildEndurance.

2007-09-27T11:49:00.000+10:00

Nathan and I covered about 50K of trails in the upper Blue Mountains on Sunday 23/9. (Garmin readout a the time said 47K, Motionbased says 52K).

Took us about 8 hours on our feet- but I was woefully udnerdone and totally thrashed after 5 hours or so, so travelling very slowly after that.

Ostensibly it was to help plot the course of the www.wildendurance.org 100K, but a good training run for both of us for Bogong etc. Full course was Leura- Pool of Siloam- Cliff Walk- Dardanelles Pass- Landslide- Golden Staircase- Narrowneck- Tarros Ladder- Mt Debert- Medlow Gap- Mitchell Creek Firetrail- Six Foot Track- Stuart Rd Trail- Narrowneck Road- Katoomba station- cab back to our cars. We drank from streams en route.

Glorious clear still day.

Utterly fucked on Monday.

9K.

2007-09-13T20:23:00.000+10:00

THURSDAY 13/9/07, 4PM, 9K (51.47), WEEK TO DATE 19K

My usual 9K loop from home- http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/australia/warrimoo/630560146

Decent hill between 6 and 7K.

Felt okay despite lack of recent running.

Train Station Run.

2007-09-12T15:00:00.000+10:00

WEDNESDAY 12/9/07, 7AM, 10K (51.44)

Of late I've run from home to Emu Plains station a few mornings each week- this morning's run was the first run of any note since last week, although I did get in a hilly 20K bushwalk last Friday.

I carry my work clothes in a http://www.trailspace.com/gear/deuter/ac-lite-25/ Deuter AC Lite 25 pack which is pretty cool- it has a lightweight frame within the pack which takes some of the load off the shoulders. Run down through Blaxland, down Mitchells Pass and past Aldi, Woolworths and Nepean High School. Very much a downhill run- I intend to lengthen it in future and including some serious uphill. Of course, that means getting up earlier...

This morning I ran past an accident opposite Nepean High School- a light truck had crossed the road and bashed a hatchback into the school fence. A few minutes beforehand I had been passing the shopping centre when several emergency vehicles flew past with sirens and lights on the go- turned the corner and there they all were.

Usually do this run in 52, 53 minutes but today was 51.44.

9K.

2007-09-05T15:29:00.000+10:00

Woke up Monday morning with a blocked up head- several folks around me have had flu of late so perhaps this is a manifestation thereof.

I was too beat up from kayaking to run Monday but yesterday morning I did 9K from home in Warrimoo- down Rickhard Rd, Long Angle Trail to Sun Valley, up Sun Valley Rd hill and home in just over 50 minutes. Cold day with rain threatening.

Whitewater Kayaking.

2007-09-05T15:24:00.000+10:00

Man, the first weekend of that course beat the shit out of me. Covered in bruises and sore shoulders, back, triceps, quads etc. Another two days of it to come......

Tired 12K.

2007-08-31T14:28:00.000+10:00

Same route round Centennial Park as last two days but quads and glutes were quite tired. 25 degrees and fairly windy at 1pm. Got round in 60.45.

This weekend and the following one I am doing a Quickstart Whitewater Kayaking course at http://www.penrithwhitewater.com.au/html_05/home/index_real.htm Penrith. I have done a bit of flatwater kayaking (including the 2003 Hawkesbury Classichttp://www.canoeclassic.asn.au/ ) but to do the multisport stuff like the http://www.coasttocoast.co.nz/ Coast to Coast in NZ I have to be accredited to do grade 2 rapids- which the follwing two Saturdays and Sundays will give me.

Should be fun!

So There's Been a Lot of Water Under the Bridge....

2007-08-30T16:22:00.000+10:00

... in recent months.

Another house move, no WS, now working two jobs- both at the restaurant by night and by day as the WildEndurance Project Manager for the Wilderness Society in Surry Hills, essentially my job is to organise this Trailwalker type event in the Blue Mountains in May next year. Then in the evening I get the train to the mountains and make pizzas.

Not much free time for training but I'm getting organised- morning runs to Emu Plains station and runs in my lunch break. Started dipping my toe back into competitive waters with the Cities Marathon, MaxAdventure Multisport and Sydney Tower Run in recent weeks, all way off what i would do at top fitness but still better than nothing.

The week to date...

Monday- 10K morning run to Emu Plains in 53 minutes
Tuesday- 10K morning run to Emu Plains in 53 minutes again; lunch, 9.5Ks including 4.5K barefoot on McKay Oval
Wednesday- 12K at lunch- to Centennial, 2 laps of the inside fence and back in 60.05
Thursday- 12K at lunch- to Centennial, 2 laps of the inside fence and back in 59.38

Week so far- 53.5K

Been feeling tired (sleep deprived) but can feel some of the old running rhythm slowly returning.

Not Having Much Luck!

2007-04-14T00:43:00.000+10:00

So since my last post I've had the flu which limited me to two runs- a very slow Mt Portal run on Saturday 7/4 and, on Thursday 12/4 my 5K Lucasville/Zig Zag loop, during which I was so buggered I almost vomited twice.

Add to that, today (Friday 13/4- appropriate) I think I broke another toe- this time the big toe of my left foot. I was shifting a griller at the restaurant this morning when a metal plate slid out of it and landed on aforementioned toe. Been munching Nurofen like peanuts since then but the toe is much too painful to walk on without a limp, let alone run on. I'm hoping for a rapid improvement over the next few days!

I've entered the Blayney- Bathurst 110K cycling event for this Sunday- hoping the toe will be up to it.

Only two and a half months to Western States and, apart from one good week, fuck all training has happened since 6FT. It's a concern but can be dealt with- back in 2002 I was preparing for Glasshouse 100mi (September) and had a hip problem in July which caused me to not run a step for three weeks.

I managed to race myself back into shape quickly- 2 marathons on consecutive weekends followed by 12FT Track the next weekend, a 12hr rogaine a fortnight later, and running from Katoomba to Mittagong (137K) the weekend after that. Finished Glasshouse in 27.39 three weeks after that.

I have a solid schedule in the next several weeks-

Sunday 15/4- B2B 100 bike race
Saturday 21/4- Hellgate 92K
Saturday 28/4- Turon 24hr rogaine
Saturday 12/5- Spud's Great North Road Fat Ass- 61K or 86K options
Saturday 2/6- Twelve Foot Track 90K

Good base of runs in there.....

More updates on flu, busted toe, cycling shortly....

The Cold.

2007-04-04T23:39:00.000+10:00

Pinched the title of this entry from a West Wing episode.

WEDNESDAY 4/4/07, 1PM, 5.5K RUN- WEEK TO DATE 22K
8AM, 45K CYCLE- WEEK TO DATE 147K

Got a cold today. Running nose, sore throat, croaky etc.

In light of this the usual 102K ride became a 45K ride at easy pace, Prestons- Penrith.

In the afternoon, an easy 4 laps of the trail around Glenbrook Lagoon. Heartrate and breathing noticeably elevated.

Hopefully things will clear up tomorrow.

Shit, it's taken me three days to run as much as Spud does in one run these days.

9K Run.

2007-04-04T00:26:00.000+10:00

Around 3pm from Warrimoo down Rickard Rd to Long Angle Trail, left turn down the hill and out to Sun Valley, up the hill and back to Warrimoo. Mix of bush and road. The trail alongside Sun Valley Creek is sublime, soft underfoot in a small tree filled valley.

Humid run. Woke up today with a sore throat and ran like a dead man for the first 4 or 5K, then started to come good and was moving well although legs were tired.

... Plus a 7.5K Run.

2007-04-02T23:25:00.000+10:00

Ran into the restaurant a couple of hours after the ride today- 7.5K. Felt tired but strong.

Good training day.

102K Cycle.

2007-04-02T23:10:00.000+10:00

Same as last Wednesday- started at Prestons, rode the M7 Cycleway as far as Deans Park, back to Prestons, then back again to the M4 and home via Lapstone Hill.

Feeling better on the bike than I did last week. Body must be adapting. Some neck soreness, that's about it.

Getting a bike computer later this week so I can time and get proper speeds for these rides.

Weekend Update.

2007-04-02T23:01:00.000+10:00

24K Saturday morning- from Warrimoo on the road to Sun Valley, then back to Lapstone, and back to Warrimoo. Legs very tired- ran like a dead man.

Ran with Spud, Rod and co Sunday morning- out to Nepean Lookout, divert up Pisgah Fire Trail, then had to run out to Glenbrook by myself rather than guide Spud to Mt Portal as planned, after a problem arose at the restaurant. Still did 35K. Felt fine for the first 16K or so, then pretty tired after that.

75.5K of running for the week, 306K of cycling.

109K Cycle.

2007-03-30T21:49:00.000+10:00

Same route was Wednesday, more or less- Prestons- M7 cycleway- Deans Park- Prestons- M4- Glenbrook (home), then tacked on an extra 7K to Warrimoo and work. Average speed about 27km/h.

Clear day, not a cloud in the sky, low 20s.

Gradually feeling better about riding- knees aren't complaining as much, hands and wrists fine, lower back bothered me Wednesday but not today, although my neck ached a fair bit and my arse still hurts.

Including a 7K ride I did Tuesday to the restaurant, bike volume for the week is 306K. Want to keep it at this level or higher for a while- plus keeping the running kilometres ticking along. 35Ker tomorrow.

9K Run.

2007-03-29T23:10:00.000+10:00

We were in Maitland today. At midday I ran 5 laps around the 1.8K perimeter of Maitland Park playing fields, 9K on grass in 44 minutes, around 4.54min/km pace. Took a couple of Ks to warm up.

Uncomfortable conditions- 28 degrees.

102K Ride.

2007-03-28T22:07:00.000+10:00

Warm and sunny day.

Got dropped at Prestons and cycled as far as Deans Park along the M7 Cycleway, returned to Prestons, then back along the cycleway to the M4 and home, finishing with the ascent of Lapstone Hill. Around four hours total (forgot the Garmin).

Haven't ridden 100K before. In fact, before Monday my longest ever ride had been a 60K effort ten or eleven years ago. This will be a good bike week.

Felt better than Monday- right knee still a bit stiff, had some bouts of neck and lower back soreness, but we'd tweaked my bike position Tuesday and I didn't have any pain or numbness in the hands or wrists.

Easy run tomorrow, long bike Friday, long run Saturday.

Bike and Run.

2007-03-26T22:35:00.000+10:00

MONDAY 26/3/07, 88K BIKE, 7.5K RUN, 6 HOURS SLEEP

Cool day, 20 degrees max, cloudy with light drizzle at times.

Mel dropped me at Prestons just before 9 so I could ride the M7 Cycleway.

The idea was to ride a full lap of the cycleway (Prestons- Glenwood- return) then back again to Rooty Hill and get a train home, which would have been just over 100K of riding.

However, just after crossing the M4 (21K) I was stopped by workmen re asphalting the path, so I returned to Prestons (42K), rode back to the M4 again (63K) and then all the way home along the M4, including a triumphant ascent of Lapstone Hill without walking (88K).

The Cycleway is a great asset for the active people of western Sydney- a round trip is close to 80K of traffic free commuting.

Very sore in a lot of places at the end of the ride and buggered from the ascent of Lapstone Hill.

A couple of hours later, ran into the restaurant at 5.15 pace. Felt a bit gumby-ish at first but moving well later.

Good, solid day.

Wow, It's Been Really Fucking Hot and Humid Lately....

2007-03-25T00:58:00.000+11:00

Sorry Spud, just thought I'd play copycat.

Interesting days.

The stomach issue I've mentioned of late led me to a consulation on Friday which more or less told me what I already suspected- the return of some old Glandular Fever symptoms, to wit, depressed immune system (and resultant bacterial stomach infection) and liver function plus one or two other goodies. Had the sweats all week, shitty sleep, hot and humid conditions bother me (not good when working in a restaurant). I have three bottles of different jungles juices to help deal with the problem.... just the after effects of flogging myself at 6FT and probably some poor dietary choices in the days following.

Funny that it took over 50 marathons and ultras before I really came to appreciate just what sort of toll these events take on the body and mind. These days I read back over my training blog entries for the first seven or eight months of 2005 and wonder how the hell I did it and what was I thinking. Then again, in autumn 2004 when I was training for Leadville (alas, these were pre-blog days) I was really pushing some envelopes- there was a period of 2 or so months where I was doing 170K+ running per week (including 2 runs of 50K+) and 150K or so of cycling. Couldn't do that now, a few too many mental barriers....

Right now, rest from exercise is not really an option with WS three months away. So for the time being I'll be replacing some runs with a lot of cycling and bushwalking as it's less stressful on the body than long runs in hot humid weather- but still good conditioning.

Thursday and Friday nights we walked home from the restaurant- 7K each.

Friday morning I ran to the restaurant to collect the car, which was an 8K run. Today (Saturday) I ran at midday and ended up doing 7K of run/walk- the heat got the better of me, as expected.

Week so far- 73K....

Another Humid 8K....

2007-03-22T00:49:00.000+11:00

... same time of day as yesterday, same sort of conditions, although some light spats of rain helped. 25 degrees, 90% humidity!

Still, felt better than yesterday- actually felt strong on the hills for a change...

WEDNESDAY 21/3/07, 3PM, 8K, WEEK TO DATE 44K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

Easy 8K.

2007-03-20T23:08:00.000+11:00

TUESDAY 20/3/07, 3PM, 8K, WEEK TO DATE 36K, 6 HOURS SLEEP

... going into the restaurant this afternoon at 3pm.

Except it's not friggin' an "easy" 8K when it's 28 degrees and 80% humidity. Within 3K the sweat was dripping constantly from my face, fingers and elbows and at the end I was squelching in my socks with each step. Gah.

Had a mild stomach bug the last few days- seems to have brought back a little fever. I didn't stop sweating till 8 or 9 tonight.

Rotten night's sleep too.

The hike had a definite training effect from yesterday- pulled up quite sore in the glutes and lower back. There will be more long hard bushwalks between now and WS.

Hike.

2007-03-19T22:55:00.000+11:00

MONDAY 19/3/07, 9AM, 28K, 6.5 HOURS SLEEP

Was going to run long today (home- Woodford- return, 58K) but still felt a bit off in the stomach, so elected to do a long bushwalk instead. Wasn't unhappy with this course of action, as my hill walking was way off at 6FT and the likes of Phibes and Max Bogenhuber advocate walking as part of a 100 mile training program.

So I walked Glenbrook- Duckhole- St Helena- Lost World Lookout- Bunyans Lookout- Martins Lookout- Valley Heights- Sun Valley- Warrimoo in around 6 hours. Tried to plot it in Gmaps but not all the trails are marked or visible on satellite, so it wouldn't be accurate. Basically a tour of old, overgrown fire trails in the lower mountains, with some sublimeviews from Lost World and Bunyans, excellent stuff.

Relatively cool day, gave the new Roman Hinchinbrook pack a test.

Lower legs and glutes stiff tonight. Decent training effect I think.

Covering off Post 6FT Recovery Week...

2007-03-19T22:51:00.000+11:00

Easy 8K runs Thursday and Friday.

Did 12K Saturday morning but had some sort of food poisoningg- was originally going to do 25 but was wasted and cut it short.

48K for the week.

Recovery Begins...

2007-03-14T11:29:00.000+11:00

... two easy 8K runs on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Quads quite sore at the start of Monday's run; just a bit stiff on Tuesday. Felt mechanically good, my heartrate and breathing were a little elevated though.

Ewen, I still definitely hover around the 88-90kg mark. The lightest I recall being in my adult life was around 86kg in late 2003, when I set my still-standing 100 mile PB.

If I piece together my best splits for different sections of the 6FT (start- Pluvi 2.48 in 2005, Pluvi- Deviation 48min in 2002, Deviation- end 58 in 2007) that makes a 4.34 Six Foot Track... doable in 2008...?

Finish Line Photo...

2007-03-13T00:56:00.000+11:00

... courtesy of UCB...

Six Foot Track 2007.

2007-03-11T23:46:00.000+11:00

Another year where I never felt good but somehow produced a performance I was quite happy with and met my goals, a satisfying tenth Six Foot Track.

Overview of recent years....

2002- 4.50 (PB, stoked)
2003- 5.44 (flu)
2004- 5.06 (cramped on Insult Hill)
2005- 4.51 (so close)
2006- 5.41 (glandular fever)

Recent training had been hot and cold- some good weeks and long runs, but also some weeks where work got in the way and I did bugger all. With this sporadic base, I aimed for a sub 5 hour finish. 4.59.59 would have been fine by me.

On race morning I got a lift to the start with regular training partner Shogun, who was making his debut but is a strong bugger and I was certain would do well.

I had a good start- there were the usual elbows and jostling as people rushed to beat the logjam on the stairs- I found myself descending with Spud and Sub50 right behind me. We hit the Nellies Glen sign in 12.18 (about eual to my best) and at around this point the Garmin completely died. From here on I pretty much relied on getting the time from runners around me.

Spud and Sub50 went on ahead just after the stairs and I cruised on more or less by myself for a few Ks before others began to come by- fast runners from later waves or people freed from the queue of the stairs. Coaster and Shogun went by just before Megalong Rd crossing, which i reached in 44 minutes- I suspect a PB for myself.

The run down to the river went well- I was with John Van Yzendoorn pretty much all the way and we reached there in 1.25, spot on target for a 4.50 or so. However, once I started walking up Mini Mini, everyone started going past (including John) as I really battled to get any sort of pace or strength going on the big ups.

I reached Alum Creek aid station in 2.17, with 2.08- 2.10 being the bracket for a 4.50. I'd lost 90 seconds a kilometre on that hill and started contemplating 5.20 or worse as a final finishing time. Going up Pluvi I felt no better but only lost another minute or two against the splits, reaching the top in 2.59 and there still being some sort of chance for a sub 5, although it felt marginal at the time.

For the first kilometre or so along Black Range I felt fairly rotten and barely ran at all, but then tried jogging up some of the inclines and surprisingly felt fairly good. I began setting myself small goals of reeling in a particular runner or running to a particular landmark without walking. By the time I emerged into the Pine Forest and approached Deviation I started to wonder if sub 5 was still on- I figured I had to be a couple of minutes under 4.00 at Deviation for this to be possible.

3.58 was the split at Deviation and from here I used my 90kg weight to full effect on every downhill, charging along the slope at full speed, then really slogging the uphills with no real "oomph" at all. By now I was starting to pass a few people who had left me behind on the big hills and we had a loose "sub 5" bus happening, including Brian from Bathurst and Shelley from Striders.

Just before Binda Cabins I passed SoLucky and also caught John again; I asked him the time, did some quick maths and ran away from him muttering about missing the target and doing 5.01.

Into the last 3K I still figured I was a minute or two too slow and would just miss the sub 5, but once the big downhill started I put all my weight into it and flew down, passing Hamburglar, Coaster and a few others. Hit the paved path and passed Uncle Dave and Amjan, then Moh, and right on the steps at the end, passed Blue Dog (complete surprise) and, with a fist pump, sprinted under the banner in 4.56.40.

Target attained!

From Pluvi to the end took me 1.57- when I ran 4.50 the split was 1.59 and when I did 4.51 the split was 2.03.

I washed off in the lake and Shogun (4.43 on debut!) and I thumbed a lift back to Katoomba to collect the car, then back home.

Some very good runs on the day from Fats, MPH, Spud and others. Not sure what to make of my own run, still feels odd to meet your goal but feel so lousy in the process of doing so.

Easy 4K.

2007-03-09T23:41:00.000+11:00

Last run before 6FT- I was going to circle the grass of Warrimoo Oval for 20 minutes, but recent rain left the surface a quagmire. Instead I parked at the bottom of Rickard Road and ran on the firetrail out to "Finch Lookout", where I ran with my broken toe a few weeks ago and saw a finch washing in a puddle. Out to the lookout and back was pretty much spot on 4K in a bit under 22 minutes.

Felt a little tired but okay. Bring it on. Six Foot Track number ten.

37K Cycle.

2007-03-08T11:21:00.000+11:00

Wanted a low impact aerobic workout today, so cycled from home to Springwood and along Hawkesbury Rd to Hawkesbury Heights, then return to Springwood and finish at Warrimoo to pick up the car. 37K in 92 minutes, 25km/h.

Fairly hilly- climbs from 200m at the start to 399m at the top of Golf Course Hill on Hawkesbury Rd, then down to 260m at the turnaround. Not big hills, just rolls a lot.

Short run tomorrow, then the big dance on Saturday.

Starting to Think About the Big Dance....

2007-03-07T11:41:00.000+11:00

FRIDAY 2/3- 8.25K run to work, moving well.

SUNDAY 4/3- hilly 10K loop (mix of dirt and bitumen) from work down Long Angle Trail, to Sun Valley, then up the formidable hill of Sun Valley Rd and back to work. Map here.

This part of Long Angle is good for running- soft earth underfoot, very pleasant.

Weekly Total= A big 33K. Plus 72K of riding.

MONDAY 5/3- My 5K Lucasville loop. Felt tired, battled a bit on the hills.

WEDNESDAY 7/3- 19K with Shogun, easy over our Mt Portal course with a deviation down to Euroka and back for extra vertical. Walked the big hills- partly as practice for 6FT, partly because we were buggered. When we finished I got the road bike out and trundled to Springwood and back- about 18K.

Not long till 6FT now.

55K Cycle.

2007-03-01T12:11:00.000+11:00

Shogun has started riding to and from his digs at Warrimoo to his work down near Liverpool a few times a week. Arranged to meet him at the top of Mitchells Pass this morning so I could tag along on the ride for part of the way.

However, in the pre dawn darkness at 5.50am, an impenetrable fog had descended, so much that I was creeping along to Mitchells at such a slow rate that I figured he must surely have left without me.

No... there he was. We descended down Mitchells, onto Russell St, and then onto the M4 with the visibility improving gradually.

I neglected to start my Garmin until I began the return trip, but on the way out I was able to keep up with Shogun no problems- but crossing the on and off ramps of the motorway gave me the heebie-jeebies. A bit bloody hard to glance over your shoulder and distinguish between cars going straight ahead and cars turning left onto the ramp, especially as most don't indicate...

I turned around and left Shogun at Wallgrove Rd, not long after turning onto the M7, and began the return trip, which was a shorter route. We didn't go down Lapstone Hill as, eastbound, there is no verge most of the way- hence we used Mitchells Pass instead. The westbound verge of Lapstone Hill is better though, and shorter.

On the way back my neck, wrists and arse really started to ache, to the point where I WELCOMED the arrival of an off ramp as it gave me a chance to stop for traffic and have a stretch....

Had to walk the bike part of the way up Lapstone Hill- my quads just aren't adapted to road bike gearing yet. Averaged a tick over 30km/h for the 21K stretch from Wallgrove Rd to Russell St though, according to Mr Garmin.

Got home just after 8am with 55K of riding in the legs. Legs felt fine, wrists and neck still sore some hours later.

Route is here.

Easy 8.25K Again...

2007-02-28T15:40:00.001+11:00

Warm and humid morning, felt ordinary for the first 5K or so, then felt pretty good once I got to Blaxland.

Added Some of my Usual Running Haunts to the Sidebar...

2007-02-28T00:39:00.000+11:00

Lots of neat trails around where I live. Plus more to explore.

I was looking at some maps last night and plotting out a marathon-ish distance out and back to Springwood that went down to the Duckhole, up to St Helena Crater, Lost World and Bunyan Lookouts, then Martin's Lookout and into Springwood via Macquarie Rd. Then return- some big hills there. On the "to do" list for the near future....

Ouch.

2007-02-27T23:45:00.000+11:00

Got myself a new toy- an Orbea Enol road bike. Fairly bottom of the range, but I don't have a lot of cash at the moment and need a steed to help me lay down a lot of aerobic hours for WS100 and, a little down the track, for NZ C2C and IM OZ.

So, Monday I did a big 12K and today a big 15K on the Orbea. Wow, my arse, wrists, neck and shoulders are fucking sore right now. I feel like Alec Guinness at the end of Bridge on the River Kwai where, appalled at his own actions, he utters "What have I done?"

I shall get used to it in good time. 400K bike weeks are not far off.

No run yesterday but this afternoon (couple of hours after the 15K ride) I ran 8.25K to the restaurant without a watch, but felt quite good- was moving well even on the hills. Not a long run, but enjoyable.

Wrap Up- 111K Week.

2007-02-26T10:48:00.000+11:00

Friday 23/2 I ran into the restaurant again, this time I felt quite good and took the Garmin. 8.25K in 4.59 pace. Week to date 69K...

Saturday 24/2 was very hot (33 degrees and humid from recent rain) when I ran home via the bush (Long Angle Trail- 12K) in between shifts. I treated it as I treated other very hot midday runs- doused myself with plenty of water and walked when I began to overheat. As a result, a slow run but felt fine at the end. 81K for the week...

Sunday 25/3 I ran with Shogun from home to Nepean Lookout and back. 30K at 5.35 pace.

Weekly total= 111K.

Nice recovery after the shit week beforehand.

Back on Track, a Bit...

2007-02-23T00:04:00.000+11:00

Monday 19/2- 36K with Shogun, up the Oaks from Glenbrook to Woodford and then down the highway to Faulconbridge. Not too bad, although the dozens of hours standing up at work recently meant I ended up with very sore hip flexors after the 20K mark. Dropped in a few sub 5.10min/kms on the road near the end which was good.

Tuesday 20/2- Thursday 22/2- 8K run into the restaurant each morning to collect the car. Felt fairly crappy on each of these runs.

Week to date= 60K.

Hell Week.

2007-02-22T23:56:00.000+11:00

Well, the week 12th- 18th Feb was the week from hell, running wise and sleep wise...

The week started off with urgent renovations at the restaurant to free up the top floor for Valentine's Day, which were completed on Wednesday morning with a few hours to spare. We served 72 people that night, and then the chef was off sick for the rest of the week with a heap of bookings and a wedding reception looming. Ended up working 14- 17 hours each day of the week (on my feet) and only got in one run- 16K with Shogun on the Tuesday, at 4.45am. Not much sleep either- for example on the Friday we left the restaurant at 11pm, came back 7am Saturday, left 11pm that night, was back 7am Sunday.

Always wondered at people who said they were too busy for running, but now I have an understanding for their situation. Not good Six Foot Track preparation one bit.

Night Running....

2007-02-12T00:40:00.000+11:00

These days I work split shifts on the weekends at the restaurant- morning and evening with a few free hours in between. Makes it hard to get any running in if there's a commitment in the break between shifts- so to bump up to 100K for the week this week I did a couple of late night runs on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday's run was at 11pm after a stupidly busy shift- I ran home from Warrimoo to Glenbrook via the road, rather than the bush option that runs via Long Angle Trail. It was a damn warm and humid evening and I deliberately didn't take the Garmin- just a steady 8K run.

Tonight's (Sunday's) run was from home, around 10pm, in solid rain up past Glenbrook Pool and the Lapstone Hotel and back, 6Ks.

100K for the week.

Woodford- Glenbrook.

2007-02-09T23:49:00.000+11:00

FRIDAY 9/2/07, 30K (2.52, 5.43min/km), WEEK TO DATE 86K, 6 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1120

Got dropped at Woodford late in the morning on a coolish (21 degrees) day which threatened drizzle, ran from there to home in Glenbrook via the fabled Oaks firetrail.

Been too busy to run the last couple of days- sounds silly but work has been crazy. When you have your own business you don't get lunch breaks to bang out the odd 12K...

Anyway I took it fairly easy and just wanted to get in some aerobic Ks. When I got to the gate just above the Oaks Picnic Ground, rather than take the usual option of running down the dirt road to the causeway I took the MTBer's singletrack which runs parallel to the dirt road. I had not done it before and found it sublime by comparison. Winding in and out of trees and skipping over the odd tree root but still able to belt along at a good pace, it was a great change from the dirt road (which I shall avoid wherever possible in future).

The footing became pretty technical the last kilometre or so before reaching the causeway, plenty of sidetracks to explore in the future.

As usual I died in the arse climbing out of the Causeway and was pretty slow the last couple of Ks running to home- adding some extra distance around the local streets to bump the distance up to 30K.

On target for another 100K week.

In response to comments, there are a few events I'm still tossing up before putting them as goals on the blog, including Spud's June 12FT and C2K. At Glasshouse I have my streak of 5 straight finishes to continue with which is decent motivation. Not sure if I have the desire for C2K at the moment.

Doing Canberra HIM would be in order to get into Ironman Oz 2008. Couple of MTB races I'd like to do (if I can actually get in some MTBing!) would be the Dirtworks 100K in May and the Highland Fling 100 mi in November. Depends on how much riding I get in over the next few months- riding is good training for WS, builds up the quads....

Site Maintenance.

2007-02-09T02:15:00.000+11:00

Finally updated those 2-year old sidebars with something more relevant!

A quick apology. I'd been thinking you were all ignorant buggers and not commenting on my blog. While I was tinkering around tonight I noticed that I hadn't changed the email address under "comment moderation" when I changed email addresses a year ago.

So there were 109 comments waiting for me to review.

Oops.

Reading them now....

In the meantime, I'm reading about all the crazy training and fast times people are doing which I will never match, despite being around for longer than most. So I'm looking at a bit more multisport later this year and particularly next year. In AR events I can be the young bloke who shows the old timers a thing or two, rather than the reverse which seems to be the current situation, running-wise. (-:

So keep an eye out for the odd bike ride and kayak paddle in here. Maybe even a race or two...

Sekrit Training....

2007-02-07T23:52:00.000+11:00

TUESDAY 6/2/07, 7AM, 45K, WEEK TO DATE 56K, 5 HOURS SLEEP, SHOES ASICS 1120

I set off from a cool, misty Katoomba just after 7am Tuesday. 15 degrees, light drizzle, marvellous mountain weather, going to run the full Six Foot Track at easy pace.

I set off with a singlet, shorts, cap, Asics 1120s, padded gloves, two 600m handbottles, 2 litre Nathan pack, half a dozen fruit bars and an Up'n'Go breakfast shake.

I took it very easy to the river- found the footing quite loose on the approach to the Coxs. Passed the Nellies Glen sign in 14.18, the road in 55 minutes, the river in 1.50. The farms seemed a lot greener than memory told me from the last couple of years- last week's rain no doubt. The view back towards the mountains from Pinnacle Hill was magnificent as always- I turn back and admire the spectacle every time I reach there. Today the clifftops were lost in fog.

Passed some Army dudes with HUGE packs at the Megalong Rd and at the swing bridge, refilled my bottles and ate a couple of fruit bars at the Coxs Campground and walked all the way to the summit of Mini Mini, passing three young blokes hiking the trail near the Cattle Yards. Jogged to the Little River then walked all the way to the summit of the Pluviometer in 3.40 odd. I drank my Up'n'Go here and ate a couple more fruit bars.

Found some footprints in the dirt on Black Range from running shoes and wondered if I was following in the footsteps of Superflake. After passing the Moorara firetrail intersection I reflected I was running in the footsteps of 2P as well! Plus the Dog, and all the other obsessives who were doing big training this year and all set to kick my arse.

As I jogged into Deviation the clouds started to burn off and the sun came out but a cool breeze kept conditions relatively cool. Felt a bit tired over the last 10K or so but the last two fruit bars kept me going. Eventually reached Jenolan in around 6.20 (the Garmin died en route so I missed the exact time).

Thoroughly enjoyed the day- the Great Dividing Range is truly my spiritual home. A little stiff today but in pretty good shape really- spent Tuesday evening and part of Wednesday shifting furniture. The toe was sore but didn't hold me back much. Wonder who's going to get injured next?

Broken Toe and a Flat Period...

2007-02-05T22:57:00.000+11:00

Broke my toe on the evening of Monday January 22, tripping over a box of books at home. Therefore, missed running that day. Wednesday did an easy 7K from the restaurant at Warrimoo down Rickard Rd to the bush and out to a nearby lookout where a finch was bathing in a rock pool. Magic. Toe a bit sore.

Next morning (25/1) I tried to do 30K with Shogun but pulled the pin at 16K when the toe was hurting too much. Decent run though, 5.08min/km. Ran into the restaurant that afternoon via Long Angle Trail, 12K in a slow 5.40 pace.

Saturday morning (27/1) Shogun and I set out to do intervals and I was feeling pretty damned ordinary. Plan was 2 x 2K and 4 x 400s but I dropped out of both 2K reps around halfway through when well off the pace, and similarly in the 400s. Just felt like shit. Lack of sleep I think.

Sunday an easy 5K around Brisbane Forest Park. Weekly total 65.5K.

Monday I did a run with UCB over some very hilly trails on Mt Coot-tha- 16K at a pace of 7.16min/km! Basically ran to the summit through the bush, down the other side to Gap Creek Picnic Ground, then back via a ridiculously hilly trail known as the Kokoda Trail (I asked UCB if they shot at you when you went up it, he replied that we would WISH we'd been shot and he was right) and then down to the start via the road and then the Summit Trail from the Lookout.

Tuesday a very slow 8K from Ashgrove in Brisbane to Simpsons Falls carpark and back in the Brisbane heat.

Didn't run again till this morning (Monday 5/2)- 11K from GLenbrook to Warrimoo with a little routefinding en route, looking for the Duckhole Track that runs down from the railway line to Glenbrook Creek.

Toe is no better than it was a week and a half ago- still sore on downhills etc.

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

2007-01-22T11:38:00.000+11:00

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...

2007-01-22T11:28:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-19T23:36:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-18T09:39:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-14T00:24:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-12T12:30:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-12T12:23:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-12T12:12:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-09T23:12:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-09T23:08:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-09T22:59:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-07T00:12:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-04T11:47:00.000+11:00

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.

2007-01-01T23:05:00.000+11:00

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.

Parramatta Park 8K.

2006-12-29T23:01:00.000+11:00

FRIDAY 29/12/06, 1PM, 14.5K, WEEK TO DATE 72.5K, 7 HOURS SLEEP, LOCO MOJO

Picked up a pair of Loco Mojos from Kev and took them down to Parramatta Park for a spin. They look retro as all hell but actually feel fairly good.

3.2K warmup (one lap of the park) in 15 minutes, felt pretty tired from yesterday's unpleasantness on the Nepean Lookout trail. Humid and 25 degrees.

The tiredness continued during the race. Moved relatively well for the first 5K (around 4.20 pace) then started to fall apart and battled in to finish in 36.17 for 8.1K, 4.29min/km. Very slow 3.2K warmdown.

Splits:
1K 4.25
2K 8.43 (4.17)
3K 13.07 (4.23)
4K 17.24 (4.17)
5K 21.48 (4.24)
6K 26.24 (4.36)
7K 31.15 (4.50)
8K 35.58 (4.42)
=8.1K in 36.17.

Nepean Lookout- 30K on a Hot Day.

2006-12-28T22:43:00.000+11:00

THURSDAY 28/12/06, 11.30AM, 30K, WEEK TO DATE 58K, 6 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

Thursdays I normally run long. But a couple of factors (Shogun being away and a 9am meeting at the restaurant) meant that I got out the door at 11.30 as the temperature climbed towards 30 degrees, ie fucking hot.

I took my new Nathan HPL 020 hydration pack with a handbottle as well- I was running from home to Nepean Lookout and back, a 30K trip with no water en route (used to be till the National Parks Service shut down the water tanks at the Oaks Picnic Ground) and the pack felt quite comfortable, although it did rub a bit when I took my singlet off. The route crosses Glenbrook Gorge, picks up the firetrail on the other side and climbs steadily towards the Oaks Picnic Ground just after 10K, then follows another, rolling firetrail for 5K to the lookout, turnaround and return.

Was moving quite well out to the lookout, which has a wonderful view of the Nepean River cutting through a high gorge, and did a couple of 5.10/min Ks at around the 20K mark before the heat caught up to me and I did a fair bit of walking after that.

Got to avoid these hot midday runs. Still, some good signs from this run and I haven't done a 30K for a while. Course map here.

Bon Voyage Carol...

2006-12-27T23:30:00.000+11:00

WEDNESDAY 27/12/06, 6.30AM, 11K, WEEK TO DATE 28K, 4.5 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

Carol Laplant's last day Down Under (for this trip) was today, so I took her on the Shaws Ridge loop at Winmalee, slow cruise in cool conditions.

Intervals- 2 x 2K and 5 x 400m.

2006-12-27T23:11:00.000+11:00

TUESDAY 26/12/06, 2PM, 17K, 6 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

About 24 degrees and sunny.

Haven't done long intervals for a while, so I figured if I could nail 3 x 2K in under 4min/k I'd be doing well. Wasn't sure if it was possible.

Did a 5K warmup to Glenbrook Oval and then 6 x 100m strides.

400m splits for the first rep:
95
95
94
96
94
=7.56

Harder work than expected. 3 minute recovery.

2nd rep:
95
95
95
97
92
= 7,55

Was buggered after that and elected to skip the third 2K rep, but after some recovery opted for 5 x 400 to keep the distance the same.

89
88
88
87
82

Pretty damned happy with that on tired legs. 4.5K warmdown.

Muggy Days...

2006-12-23T23:15:00.000+11:00

SATURDAY 23/12/06, 10AM, 12.25K (1.07.52, 5.31min/km), WEEK TO DATE 78.75K, ASICS 1100

Ran home from Warrimoo on a muggy, drizzly morning and it was fairly unpleasant going as a result. Tired legs and I slogged along drenched in sweat. Instead of the usual 8K road route I went through the bush via Long Angle Trail and added some bush around Glenbrook Lagoon also. Not good but I got it done. Map of the route here.

Parra 8K on a Hot Double Day....

2006-12-22T23:51:00.000+11:00

FRIDAY 22/12/06, 9AM, 8.25K (42.19, 5.13min/km), WEEK TO DATE 53.5K, 7 HOURS SLEEP ASICS 1100

Ran to work to collect the Kombi. Legs felt a bit off, but ground through the run okay on a warm morning. Didn't try to push too hard.

FRIDAY 22/12/06, 1PM, 13K (2K warmup, 8K race, 3K warmdown), WEEK TO DATE 66.5K, ASICS 1100

Hot day in Parra Park for the weekly race (about 30 degrees, but no shade made it worse). I got through an ordinary 2K warmup and figured that with the tiredness from the last 36 hours plus the heat I'd do well to keep under 4.30min/km today.

Was in fifth place early on and battling in the heat; debated taking the short option (5K) and watched the first three runners take that choice, then the guy ahead of me elected to keep going for the full 8K and I wondered if I could beat him. Drew to within 10 metres of him at around the 5K mark; then I started to overheat and dropped off in the last 2K of the run and finished in 36.25, 4.30 pace, two minutes slower than last week. Did a very slow warmdown.

I was still hot all afternoon; kept sweating at work and didn't feel better till the cool change came through around 9pm.

Splits for the race:

1K 4.21
2K 8.43 (4.21)
3K 13.16 (4.33)
4K 17.43 (4.27)
5K 22.12 (4.28)
6K 26.39 (4.27)
7K 31.18 (4.39)
8K 36.00 (4.41)
=8.1K in 36.25, 4.30min/km

Double Days...

2006-12-21T15:06:00.000+11:00

THURSDAY 21/12/06, 1.30PM, 8.25K, WEEK TO DATE 45.25K, ASICS 1100

Three hours sleep after the morning intervals.

I deliberately left the Kombi at work (Warrimoo) last night so ran in at lunchtime to collect it. Road run, overall uphill (climbing from 200m ASL to 275m ASL). 27 degrees, legs a little stiff. 8.2K in 42.22, 5.10min/km.

If I run in to collect the Kombi most days as a second run, that's a good few bonus kilometres each week.

Rough Days and Good Intervals....

2006-12-21T12:41:00.000+11:00

Mixed bag since the SMC Half.

Monday I did a Spin class in the evening with Mel, who dropped me 5K from home and I ran the rest of the way. Didn't take a watch but felt a lot better than the last time I ran home from a Spin Class.

Had the sweats Monday night- Tuesday morning and dragged myself out for a run Tuesday morning (Shogun had a work call) and felt rotten from the start. Started going up the other side of the Gorge and started walking, so kept walking (with a bit of jogging) to Euroka and back- 12K of run/walk.

No run Wednesday- work stuff and feeling a bit unmotivated.

This morning I lined up for 10 x 600m intervals with Shogun, with 2min recoveries.... still had the sweats overnight.

THURSDAY 21/12/06, 5AM, 20K, WEEK TO DATE 37K, 4 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

Very humid morning- 99- 100% humidity! Around 17 degrees- at the start of our session the far end of Glenbrook Oval had a fine mist at the other end.

7K warmup during which we felt rotten. 6 x 100m strides to stretch out, then into the reps.... 4min/km pace is 2.24 for 600, so I just aimed to start the session with reps around that pace and then get quicker as I went.

2.20
2.19
2.15
2.17
2.13
2.12
2.12
2.09
2.07
2.07

Fairly tough work from relatively early on, and the last one left me shattered. Good numbers though, very encouraging.

Very slow 4K warmdown during which we saw Whippet Gal out running. Went back to bed for a couple of hours.

SMC Half.

2006-12-17T22:22:00.000+11:00

SUNDAY 17/12/06, 7AM, 21K, WEEKLY TOTAL 103.5K, 5 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1110

I had a handy run today, my "comeback" to regular racing continues after the encouraging 8K race round Parramatta Park on Friday.

Today I set out in the Half at around 4.40 pace, sitting 10-30m behind Eagle and K for the first 10Ks or so. I didn't accelearate in the second half but around half a dozen people came back to me in the second half. I did consciously back off on the hill just after halfway as this was where things went wrong last month, but it didn't affect my placing and I kept going in subsequent Ks. I felt pretty good as I finished in 1.38.55, 4.39 pace and 7 minutes quicker than last month. No real distress, just a good hard aerobic run. Much encouraged, just have to keep the momentum going.

PBs to Shogun and Horrie, saw Blue Dog out there at one point (doing the 10K?).

Splits...

1K 4.41
2K 9.12 (4.31)
3K 13.54 (4.42)
4K 18.32 (4.37)
5K 23.12 (4.40)
6K 27.41 (4.29)
7K 32.29 (4.48)
8K 37.05 (4.35)
9K 41.43 (4.37)
10K 46.23 (4.40)
11K 51.11 (4.47)
12K 56.04 (4.53)
13K 1.00.42 (4.38)
14K 1.05.36 (4.53)
15K 1.10.16 (4.40)
16K 1.15.06 (4.50)
17K 1.19.38 (4.31)
18K 1.24.25 (4.47)
19K 1.28.58 (4.33)
20K 1.33.34 (4.35)
21K 1.37.57 (4.22)
Finish 1.38.55 (4.39min/km)

First 100K week for a while too. Good to see.

Parramatta Park 8K.

2006-12-15T23:54:00.000+11:00

FRIDAY 15/12/06, 1PM, 11.5K, WEEK TO DATE 82.5K, 7 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1110

Pleasantly cool 16 degrees with light drizzle for this week's Parramatta Park Runners 8K hitout.

I arrived in the Kombi just as the field was heading off, having been delayed on the phone with suppliers earlier. I set off 4 minutes after everyone else with no warm up, but Graham and Alan were good enough to record my "real" time as opposed to my "gun time, bloody good on them.

First K felt a bit rough with no warm up, but after that I eased into things well and started moving through the back of the field. Dipped below 4.10min/km a few times and waited to blow up but never did. Ended up doing 8.16K in 34.29 (4.13min/km), more than a minute better than last wee and 10 seconds ahead of the next guy on "real" time- bloody happy with that. Ran round the park again for warmdown.

Splits...

1K 4.30
2K 8.40 (4.09)
3K 12.52 (4.11)
4K 16.57 (4.05)
5K 21.14 (4.16)
6K 25.29 (4.14)
7K 29.38 (4.09)
8K (33.55 (4.17)
Last 160m at 3.37 pace.

Attention passengers, engine G has hitched itself to the sub 40 for 10K train....

Slogging over the Euroka Loop.

2006-12-14T14:18:00.000+11:00

Easy 5K recovery run on Wednesday morning over the old railway lines (now trails) around Lucasville/ Lapstone Zig Zag. Legs definitely a bit cactus from Tuesday's intervals....

THURSDAY 14/12/06, 4.45AM, 24.5K, WEEK TO DATE 71K, 4 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

Met Shogun again for our Oaks/Euroka loop on a damned humid morning (22 degrees/ 99% RH). We were going to extend it for another few Ks but we were both travelling fairly slowly today and just did the usual route in the end. I was buggered from lack of sleep and walked a couple of big hills in the end. Got round in 2.19, 5.41min/km.

Had a shower, breakfast and then slept till midday!

1K Intervals.

2006-12-12T21:15:00.000+11:00

TUESDAY 12/12/06, 5AM, 16K, WEEK TO DATE 32K, 5 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

A cool 16 degree day with drizzle and a southerly breeze with some bite to it. Shogun and I warmed up for 5K by running to the Lagoon, around it and down to the track at Glenbrook Oval. Half a dozen 100m strides and into the session- 5 x 1K with 2 minute recoveries. I was curious to see if I could break 4 minutes for every rep- it's been a while....

3.57
3.55
3.55
3.50
3.44

5K warmdown.

Pretty bloody happy with that.

Hot Days...

2006-12-12T21:09:00.000+11:00

Missed Saturday being tied up with work stuff. Sunday I did a hot, slow 10K into the National Park, struggled quite a bit.
Monday I was going to do a long run- loop in the NP from the Causeway to Red Hands Caves to the Oaks to Euroka to the Causeway, filling up my bottle at Red Hands and Euroka. Got to Red Hands on a 38 degree day with no water and the WATER TANK HAD BEEN REMOVED! Bushwhacked back to the tap at the Visitor's Centre (6K or so) in the heat and was feeling utterly fucked by the time I got there. Bit of a battle home- about 16K in pretty unpleasant conditions. Not much of a long run though.

A Few Photos from the Parramatta Park 8K....

2006-12-09T01:33:00.000+11:00

Parramatta Park 8K.

2006-12-09T01:20:00.000+11:00

FRIDAY 8/12/06, 1PM, 10K (1.75k warmup, 8.25K race), WEEK TO DATE 69K, 8 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

Recent mention on CR of a weekly race series in Parramatta Park saw me head down there today for a hitout. The course is here: two big laps of the park and a short lap to finish off, running in the walking lane on the outside of the road. There are also 3K (one big lap) and 5K (one big and one small lap) options.

About 25-30 starters, but I ran most of the way myself as most of the runners seemed to take short options so they could enjoy their Christmas BBQ. Went out at a pace a touch harder than I did in the 10K last Sunday and tried to keep it aerobic, but faded a bit in the last mile or so- there's an uphill where I faded a bit on but somehow clawed that lost time back in the final sprint for a time of 35.45, 8.2K, 4.23min/km. Pretty happy with that workout- better run than Sunday, might be getting in some shape.

Not sure of results yet.

Splits:

1K 4.22
2K 4.17 (8.40)
3K 4.31 (13.11)
4K 4.11 (17.23)
5K 4.27 (21.51)
6K 4.24 (26.51)
7K 4.25 (30.41)
8K 4.28 (35.10)
Last couple of hundred metres in 3.39min/km pace.

I enjoy these low key races. Will be back next Friday.

Loosener/ Rough Offroad Long...

2006-12-09T01:10:00.000+11:00

10K on Wednesday morning to Blaxland and back, legs feeling the effects of Tuesday's intervals. 55 minutes.

THURSDAY 7/12/06, 5AM, 20K, WEEK TO DATE 59K, 4 HOURS SLEEP, ASICS 1100

Late night (working nights now- more details soon) but met Shogun at 5am for a long run over some of the roughest trails in the area- down Knapsack Gully and up the other side to Elizabeth's Lookout, then down an old, eroded firetrail covered in loose rocks to the bottom of Mitchell's Pass, up Russell St and Wedmore Rd into Emu Plains and a couple of Ks along the Riverside Firetrail, and back. We were running late on the way back so skipped the trails climbing to and from Elizabeth's Lookout, and instead went up the steps to Lucasville Station and home. The offroad sections were very slow indeed but we reeled off some good Ks on the flat. Faded in the last couple of Ks. Tough run!