Easy Monday 14.8k

Met up with Mike Conway, Durante and Enda at 7.30am in Centennial. The boys were heading out for a 2 hr run and I told them I would stay with them for an hour or so. They opted for the 3.6k loops and the pace was slightly faster (4.38) than yesterdays.
Had a good chat with the boys and left them at the top of the Oxford street entrance and headed back home. All up 14.8km in 68 mins.
Picked up a good read at the weekend "The 50 Greatest Marathon Races of all time" - Will Cockerell. Clayton, Zátopek, Radcliffe, Deek, Benoit, Khannouchi etc are all covered. The races are ranked and but I think he has a slight bias towards the London marathon. In saying that I wasn't aware the Steve Monegetti finished 2nd in London twice and only by a few seconds in both races. Good to see Deek's win in the '82 Commonwealth games rank highly.

Long run 34.6km in 2.42

I opted to head back to centennial for my long run. The plan was to run from the house and then run 9 laps of the 3.6k loop in centennial. Left the house around 7.30am and it was already 20C and sunny. Legs felt good and checked my pace and I was running 4.40 pace on the way to the park. Slightly quick for me but continued at that pace as i started the first loop in centennial.
Ran 4 laps at 4.40 and then Chalks appeared (mentioned that i would like support the night before at a barbie) and started to run with me, it was great to have the additional support and ran slightly faster than 4.40 pace for the next 3 laps. Chalks took a break and I continued on at 4.40 pace but was beginning to struggle. My wife Liv and her two sisters (Ger and Gill) had finished their run and it was nice to get the support from the sidelines. The last 2 laps were 4.43, 4.46 pace. I was knackered at the end of the run but pleased with the pace as it was 25C when I finished up. Will run 10 laps next weekend, thoughts are that this will not only build endurance but also mental strength. Big Bear (Chris) continues his road to Tokyo and knocked out an impressive 33km run...go the Bear.

5km time trial

I was looking forward to this one as I was interested to see how my training would translate into racing. Left calf still tight when i got up and had a quick hot bath and a little self massage loosened it up a bit.
Picked up Ger in Newtown and went out to Drumoyne. Did a nice warm-up and opted for the 17 min group but failed to live up to the time expectations. After a quick first 1km (3.19) I failed to hold the pace and kept drifting and finished up with a disappointing 17.33.
The relos are on a bit of a role at the moment, Big Bear (Chris) is running some stellar times in the lead up to Tokyo with a 20.02 5km pb. Young Ger PB'd with a super 24.36 and Gillian is returning to form with a 24.45 5km pb. Methinks I need to start working a little harder. Roll on the long run tomorrow!

Movies galore and a little running

am - went for an easy 6km run with Chalks in the morning. Covered it in just under 30 mins. Went for a nice dip in the beach after the run.

pm - 5km easy in Moore park, 8 *100m sprints. The left calf is pretty tight, probably as a result of running the 400s barefoot.

On the movie front, watched the tail end of Neil Jordan's "An end of an affair" staring the brilliant Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore. Fiennes is fantastic as the jealous lover. On Friday, saw the excellent "Atonement". Most movies never do the book justice think "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" but this is an super adaptation of the Ian McEwan's novel with fab performances from Knightley and newcomer James McAvoy.

I really like 400s...

am - went out for an easy run with Jen and Niamh. I put in 4 min km but took the rest of the run very easy, all up 6km.

pm - went to Frost reserve (Kincumber) and did a bit of a warm-up. Got straight into an old favourite of mine (400s with 60 sec recovery). The reps went as follows (75, 74, 72, 73, 72, 72, 73, 72, 72, 70). The session felt a lot easier than last week. Obviously the longer recovery time helped. I think it's time to lace up my racing shoes again! All up 9km.

Killcare hills for just over 2 hours

Started off up in Killcare Heights and ran down to the beach and then back up the hill. The hill is pretty steep and goes on for 2.8k. I did the loop twice. Kept the pace pretty even and pushed the hills, all up just short of 26km. Big Bear (Chris) was afraid of the hills and opted for a relatively flat 21km. All the guys (Jen, Chalks, Sarah, Niamh, Gillo, Ger and Liv) went for a run along beach. Beautiful day for running...53 days left....having a fab time up in the central coast.

Christmas Day...easy run

Went for a nice easy 10.6km run with Chalks and Big Bear. Enjoyed the run and pushed the hills. Nice easy pace of 4.36.
Happy Christmas to everyone, especially my family back in Ireland (my Ma, Da and my two younger brothers Derek and Christopher & my parents-in-law Ger and Liz)

10 * 3 mins with 1 min recovery

On Saturday, I noticed a nice long road leading into Bouddi national park and felt I could do my intervals there. The road was quite hilly so I knew it would be difficult to maintain a 3.35 pace. First reps was run at 3.40 pace, 2nd rep in 3.32. I maintained the 3.40 pace for the odd rep (due to a nasty hill) and 3.32 pace for the even rep. This is a tough session when you run this session on your own and incorporate the hills.

58 mins...

Easy run around Copacabana. No flat terrain around here so plenty of hills again...

Long run 2 hours

Went for a nice easy two hour run through Bouddi national park in the central coast with Big Bear. Same type of terrain as the 6 foot, lots of hills, steps and rocks to negotiate. Came out of the park and ran down to Killcare beach. Enjoyed the steep hill coming out of Killcare on the way back to MacMasters.

Easy Friday

Easy run in the Domain about 8km all up. Ran on my own as Tom was hungover, Kate was heading off to a xmas lunch and Durante was lazy.

Seko

The famous Japanese runner during the 80s (Boston winner twice and 4 time Fukuoka winner) was renowned for his drinking abilities. He would run hard in the morning and then down 8 or 9 beers in the evening. At the moment with all the xmas lunches I feel a bit like Seko. Looking forward to a few days off drinking after the xmas period.
Met up with Tom, Mike, Eoin and Mike Harrison for a 400s session. I ran 8 reps averaging 74 secs. I didn't get the normal 60 secs recovery because we started the reps every 2 minutes so this reduced my recovery to 45 secs. When I was strong last year, I would run the 400s in 72 secs so I am very happy with my progress. Mike was strong today averaging 72 secs for 10 reps. Sandrock's "Running with the Legends" is worth picking up for the Bio's on all the greats - Seko, Coe, Deek, Shorter etc...

"No country for old men"

Easy mid-week long run with Big Bear (Chris), met up in centennial park and ran at a nice easy pace (5.10). We chatted plenty, topics ranging from the tokyo marathon, the final entourage show, the talent in Chris's office, the cohen's brother new movie "no country for old men" and our planned xmas break in the central coast. Covered just over 17k. The legs were tired, tight calf, psoa tight....but generally fine. 60 days left....

Intervals - 3 mins by 10 with a 1 minute recovery

With the xmas lunches in full flow and with Tom sick we only had Mike Conway, Anthony, Enda, Tim C, Adam and Brad in attendance. Mike suggested we give everyone an opportunity to lead the reps from start to finish. Anthony was up first, I was up next, then Enda, Mike and Adam. Even with no garmin the reps were run at a very even pace. (approx 3.25 - 3.30 pace). I only ran 8 reps 2 weeks ago but felt great going into the final rep. Anthony suggested we push the rep from 500m from the end.
Adam lead from the front and we all kept right behind him, we were pushing it from the start as we went through the first 1 min marker a lot quicker than the previous reps. With 500m left, I surged a little and was closely followed by Mike, Anthony and Enda. Anthony pushed it and Enda and Mike followed. I eased off a little and then pushed again passing Mike and tucking in behind Anthony and Enda. We finished a good bit passed the bottle maker with Enda edging Anthony by a metre or so. I was just behind Anthony. I was pleased to see that I had a little bit of a kick at the end but we really should be running these at a controlled pace and not pushing the pace at the end.

Easy run

Easy 8km around the domain. Ran home from work which is approx 3.5k. Legs are feeling fine but psoas muscle is a little tight and need to work on releasing it. Happy with the last 2 weeks of 100k plus training. 9 weeks left...

Long run 30km 2.29

Ran from Surry Hills down to Mike's place in Bondi. Took it relatively at 5.03 pace and then met up with Mike, Durante and Terrance. Took it nice and easy up Bondi road and ventured into the soft grass of Queens park and then went around the outside loop of cenntenial. The pace (5.20) was pretty comfortable at this stage. We increased the pace (4.40) when we started a loop of the inside track and more or less maintained the pace back down to Bondi. In order to cover 2 hours we needed to run 2 loops or Ben Buckler. At this stage i was 2 hours 15 on my feet and i didn't appreciate the hills we had to tackle. Struggled towards the end and was pleased to finish unscathed after yesterday's ankle debacle. Terrance is planning on running the 6 foot track again and looks strong especially on the hills and will better his pb of 4.27. I was trying to convince Mike and Durante to run 6 foot as a training run. They were having none of it. In saying that they are keen to explore different variations of the long run which brings me to a book I picked up today "running tough" by Sandrock. Sandrock's book covers 75 workouts from running experts ranging from Shorter, Deek, Lydiard and Rodgers. Plenty of long run suggestions and i can pass on the tempos/intervals sessions to Mike and Tom for our Tues & Thurs sessions.

anke roll

Stayed in Friday evening and watched the fabulous "The Commitments" which based on a group of Dublin musician's who attempt to bring soul music to Dubliners. Dublin has changed a lot since '91 and I'm not sure North Dublin can be considered the "blacks of Europe". Well maybe they can..!
Got up early on Sat morning and planned tempo run. After a 20 min warm up, started the tempo run at 3.40 pace and went comfortably for 8 mins or so and then somehow slipped on a stone and rolled my ankle. I hobbled back home and applied ice for the rest of the day. Having rolled my ankle on several occasions, i realised in the evening it was only a minor sprain. I went out for an easy 3km to test the ankle and i was delighted that it was okay.

Easy Balls Head

Easy run with Tom and Ray across the bridge over to Balls head. 13km all up. Felt quite good. Looking forward to the long run at the weekend.

"And all the wine is all for me"

"And all the wine is all for me" from the album Alligator - The National, literally ran through my head as I hooked up with the crew for a fartlek (1 min on, 30 sec float jog for 45 mins) session at lunch. I had a barbie last night and a few friends came over (chalks - an ironman, Al Sheehen -who ran a 5 mins pb in Smithfield a few weeks back, Niamh - a C2S veteran and Sonja a spinning queen). It all went pear shaped when I decided to head back up to the bottle shop for another 4 bottles of wine, at that stage we'd drank 6 bottles.
I was slightly late meeting up with the guys and could only stay with them for 25 mins and decided to pull the plug near the art gallery in the domain. Durante who had stomach issue also pulled out. The boys at the front looked strong in particular Tom and Tucks. The 1 min interval pace was 3.30 so it's a tough session. Look forward to giving this session another go in the near future.
Felt guilty and went to the gym after work, did a little cross training and some weights and ab work. Ran home and the body felt a lot better. Highly recommend The National's Alligator and Boxer. Looking forward to seeing them in Jan.

MLR

Got up early and hit centennial park for easy MLR. Nice cool morning for running. Ran at 4.55 pace. Ran for 1hr 20 mins and covered just over 16km. The legs were tired from yesterday's effort especially the quads.
Booked flights to Japan with Jetstar last week. Got a great deal - a little under $700 return. Will spend one week in Japan. Looking forward to it now. Lots of gigs coming up in the next few months, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Arcade Fire and Bjork are in town in Jan and Interpol in Feb. Need to make a call between Arcade Fire and Bjork...tough decision..!

Intervals - 5 mins by 6 with 90 sec recovery

The session focuses on building your aerobic capacity which will assist with building your endurance. So it's good marathon training for me.
Large crew in attendance again today (Durante, Tom, Ray, Mike, Enda, Serg, Tucks, Charlie and a good few other guys that I just don't know). Started near the opera house and ran from 5 mins around via Mrs Macquarie Chair and just short of the the swimming pool. My pace was pretty even and i felt comfortable throughout. The reps went 3.32, 3.28, 3.28, 3.31, 3.27, 3.22. Most of my reps were run with side by side with Enda. The guys at the front looked comfortable in particular Mike and Serg. Tom, Ray, Tucks and Tim C even managed to do two more reps. All up 13km.

14.6k

Went for what was suppose to be an easy run with Tom, Serg, Enda and Mike. Serg mapped the route prior to the run. We ran through the domain, up to King's cross down to Rushcutters up Ocean street in Edgecliff and one lap around centennial and then back the same route. Serg led from the front and we started out easy but once we hit centennial we increased the pace right back into the city. All up 14.6km at 4.30 pace. I was tired at the end and glad to finish up. The funny thing is Serg thinks we should be running these faster...not so sure about that!

Recovery Run

I was planning on taking a day off but Chris "Big" Bear came over to the house and convinced me to head out for a nice easy run. Ran for approx 5.5km and then ran 5*100 strides at the end. Legs were tired at the start but felt much better after the strides.

Long run 31k

Hooked up with Mike, Durante, Terance and Craig for a long run around the Eastern Surburbs. I ran on my own from Surry Hills to Bondi Beach to meet up with the lads and then ran for another 2 hours via Vaucluse, Watsons Bay, Rose Bay and Bronte. We picked up the pace from Rose Bay for the last 40 mins. Legs were tired at the end and I was glad to finish off with a nice cool dip in Bondi. 10 weeks left....

Easy Balls Head

Easy 12.5km with Kate and Ray. Still it took approx 65 mins and the legs were feeling it at the end. The last week has been tough. I've a massage scheduled for this evening so hopefully that will help.

400s

Met up with the running crew to run 400s (Ray, Serg, Mike Conway, Enda, Eamon, Eoin, Andy, Durante & Tucks). Last year when I was travelling well this was my favourite session and I usually banged out 8*400 in 72 sec with a 60 sec standing recovery. Sometime I reduced my recovery to 45 secs. The guys were planning 10, I was planning eight. I started out well and by the 6th rep I was pretty tired. After the 8 rep my heart rate was still quite elevated hovering around the 160 mark so I decided to pull the plug. The reps went like 72, 73, 72, 73, 73, 74, 73, 75. Happy with the effort and as i get fitter i should be able to manage 10*400 in 72. The guys at the front Serg, Mike, Tucks and Durante were looking very good. Durante managed to bang out a 64 last rep. Very impressive! Fats was there at the end, he did very well in Keppler at the weekend with another podium finish.

2 runs in 1 day

Failed to get out of bed early this morning, when Tom sent an email out I decided to hook with the guys and we met at Hyde park and went for a nice easy run with Durante, Tom and Richard High. We went via Surry Hills and into Centennial park and ventured via Paddo back into the city. All up 12.8km in 58mins (so 3.4o pace). All up the run was approx 14.8km as i had to run back to Bond street.
After work i decided to go out for an nice easy run. Took the same route from work back into Centennial and took in a few loops of the park in. All up 16km in around 1.21 mins (a little over 5k pace). Legs were pretty tired at the end but was happy to get a MLR in. 30km or so for the day..!

8 by 3 mins with a 1 min recovery

Hooked up with Tom's running group for the first time in months. Tom and the guys (Ray, Mike Conway, Durante, Tucks, Anthony, Charlie Low and lots of other guys that i didn't know).
The guys were planning on running 10, before the start I'd mentioned to Durante that I felt i could handle about 8 and that's how it panned out.
I was planning on running 3.50 pace but when the session kicked off got into the nice rhythm and held steady at the back of the pack and ran 8 reps averaging 3.35 pace.
The reps went 3.35, 3.35, 3.32, 3.36, 3.35, 3.36, 3.32, 3.35.
Pleased not to go lactic and felt relatively comfortable throughout. Probably could of handled 10 but decided not too risk it with a MLR scheduled tomorrow morning.

12.5km recovery run

Nice easy run to balls head with a bigger crew than normal, so left bond street with Eamon, Eoin, Enda, Mike Conway, Serg, Durante and Anthony. We met Ray on the bridge. Serg pushed the pace a little, it was pretty warm and i kept at the back of the pack to keep Durante company who was struggling a little with the heat. :)
Great running by Kate Coburn at the central coast who ran 90.20 and Richard Palmer running 79 odd after the Mark Webber challenge.

82.50 for 21km - 28km all up

Beautiful day up in the Central coast. Planning on running 84 mins and went out at 4 m/k pace. It was pretty comfortable for the first 5km. Passed a lot of people who went out pretty hard in the first 5km, most notably superflake at 4km. Then worked my way through 6 or 7 runners until i got to 8km. Drew level to a pack of 4 runners and ran with them until 10km and then increased the pace slightly (3.54 as per garmin), one of the runners kept with me until about 13km. I was feeling pretty good and hovering at about 3.55 pace. I passed about 4 or 5 runners until the 15k marker. Still feeling pretty good until 18k and then the legs started to seize up. I was glad to see the finish line. Very tried at the finish line. It's a pity i couldn't finish stronger but there was nothing in the legs at the end. Garmin measured the course slightly shorter at 20.9km. Happy with the effort 11 wks out from Tokyo....serious training starts now! Finished off a great day with a picnic out in Strictland House with the extended family. Brought them home for a barbie in the house and then cleared them all out in a game poker:)

easy 10km with Strides

10KM easy at 5k pace followed by 5 by 100m striders, so all up 10.65km. Nice and easy before i venture up to the central coast.