Happy Mondays

Easy run with Springer, Tom and Ray to Balls Head. Approx 13k in just over an hour. The legs were pretty tired from the weekend. It will be interesting to see how Springer, Superflake and Uncle Dave go in Canberra. I'm predicting PBs for all the guys. Will try to make it down to Canberra to support them.

Sky Blue Sky

Sat: Over to Drumoyne for the 5km Coolrunning Challenge and ran 17.33 which was rather disappointing. On a brighter note, my two sis in laws Gerso and Gill ran super PBs. Good to meet up with the regular crew - Colin, Blue Dog, Johnny Dark, Luigi, Tux and the professor.

Sun: It was a beautiful morning for a long run. Mike, Enda, Terence, Guy, Tim and a rare appearance for Tom on the eastern suburbs. We ran the 6k loop in centennial (including the 750 climb to Wollarha gates) and left the park and headed out to Coogee and came back to centennial via Queen's park (incorporating some nice hills on the way back). At this stage we were running approx 4.40 pace. We increased the tempo for the 3.6k loop to 4m/k pace and then opted for 4 by 1k rep to finish off the session. Mike, Enda and Guy dropped out after 2 reps and myself, Tom, Tim and Terence continued for 2 more. Reps were covered in 4.05, 4.00, 3.45, 3.29. We pushed it for the last rep and Tom finished a few secs up on me with Tim and Terence a few seconds back. Good session and it's strange to think I could only run 3.27 for the last km of the 5k yesterday but could bang out a 3.29 after 27k of running this morning. All up 26.4k in 1.57 with avg pace 4.28.
That's Tim last long run before he heads off to run the London marathon. He's looking very strong and was very comfortable with the change of pace today.
Spent the rest of the morning listening to Wilco the alt country outfit from the states, I had the pleasure of seeing the Jeff and boys in the Enmore recently. Currently loving the new album 'sky blue sky'...

Easy Friday

Out for an easy run with Serg, Tom and Springer. We opted for the hilly route from the city via Potts Point, Edgecliff, Centennial and back via Surry Hills. We started out at easy running 5k pace and increased the pace slightly running 4.30 approx at the end. All up 12.5k.

Mona Fartlek

Met up with the HuRT Squad (Durante, Mike, Serg, Anthony, Greg, Richard High, Fats, Mike Race, Enda, Judge Drev, Chris Graham and a few others I don't know) for the Mona Fartlek. Noticeable absentee was Tom and I haven't seen Tucks in a while.

Strange but true in that I've never ran a Mona Fartlek so it was new experience for me and it showed.

The plan is to run 90 (90), 90 (90), 60 (60), 60 (60), 60 (60), 60 (60), 30 (30), 30 (30), 30 (30), 30 (30), 30 (30), 30 (30).

You run the un-bracketed times hard and the bracketed times are apparently a slow jog. I went out too quickly and ran side by side with Fats from the Opera house gates until after the Boy Charlton pool. Serg, Richard High, Anthony and the Judge were about 100m in front at the turnaround. The average pace of the fast reps up to this point approx 3.20k/m. The slow jog up to this point approx 3.48 pace. I was surprised that I increased my pace for the fast reps to 3.17 avg (but there are some downhill sections and obviously the reps are shorter) on the way back to the Opera House. The slow jog on the way back crept from 3.50 to 4.25 for some reps. I was glad to get back to the Opera House gates and I covered 5.59 all up. Will need to focus on consistent pacing for the slow jogs next time. Richard High who is doing the Ironman in a few weeks looked in great shape at the front.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail...

Out for an easy 40 min run with Durante today. The easy pace gave us a chance to discuss some training and race strategies for the season ahead. No need to divulge the details on the blog. Suffice to say I am confident Durante will take Tom out in the Gold Coast if not sooner. Looking forward to collecting the cash from Tim. It will go some way to covering my drinking bill on the 7th of July in the GC.

Easter Parade

Spent the Easter weekend up near Bluey Beach about 300km north of Sydney. In between sleeping on the beach I did manage to get out for some runs.
Fri - An easy 8km at 4.40 pace with my mate Al
Sat - Steady 8km run at 4.05 pace with Al for the first 3k.
Sun - 23k in total (7.7k loop by 3) I went out for the long one on my own and increased the pace slightly for each loop. Lap 1 (36 mins), Lap 2 (34.55), Lap 3 (34.04).
Mon - Rest day
Tues - Out with the Hurt Squad for 10 by 3 mins off 1 min. A big crowd again today (Serg, Tom, Mike, Anthony, Greg, Springer, Charlie, Ray, Tim and Fats. It was great to see Phil Dove in attendance and Durante back after his break in Thailand. The pace for the session was 3.30 km/m. I felt real comfortable today probably because of the added rest I got at the weekend. With the distance covered and the pace this is essentially a VO2 max session. Some of the guys ran an additional 4 reps. I noticed Fats and Charlie opted for active recovery whereas the majority opted for standing recovery. Good session overall and it will be interesting to see how I go on Sat for the 5k coolrunning challenge in Drummoyne. 17.33 is my best time this year so hopefully I can improve this on Sat.

Hickson Road 1.2k by 5

Out with the HuRT Squad 1.2k by 5 off 2 mins. Given the guys are the front (Tom, Serg, Charlie, Anthony, Fats) were slightly quicker the recovery was shorter for me (more like 1 min 50 sec). Reps went as follows:

3.54, 3.53, 3.52, 3.53, 3.51

Shattered at the end of the session, it was very warm out there and I think Tuesday's session took a lot out of me. Looking forward to some rest over the long weekend.

HuRT squad 45 Fartleg (1 min on, 30 sec recovery jog)

I've never finished this session so I was keen to set myself up for success and agreed with Enda beforehand that we keep the 'the 1 min on' at 3.35 pace. Tom, Serg, Anthony, Springer, Charlie and the Judge sped off into the distance and I settled into the agreed 3.35 pace with Enda and Adam. Mike Conway who is just back from holidays dropped off the pace pretty early on. It's not really the session to run after a 3 week holiday. After 24 min we turned around near the art gallery and we took 90 sec jog instead of 30 sec. I kept a close eye on my garmin and we kept steady at 3.32 pace. Our recovery jogs were approx 4.40 pace and sometimes a little quicker. All up the average pace for the session was 3.57. It was very hot and humid out there today.

Hazey Jane 1

On Friday got out easy 35 mins stroll and Saturday went for steady 5k run and covered it in 20 mins.
Headed up to Newcastle for Rich Palmer's surprise 40th Birthday on Sat arvo. Had a super day. Can't believe Rich is 40 and he's running faster than ever. On Sunday morning, went out for a 1hr 40 mins and covered 22.4k. Pleased with the effort as I found it difficult to get out the door this morning. Spent the rest of the morning reading the papers and listening to Nick Drake...nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain

Well the only beautiful thing out there today was the sun. There was no beauty in the way I ran the 400s with the HuRT squad today. The session was 10 by 400 rolling off 2 mins which really entices you to run a little quicker so you can get more of a recovery. As I averaged 74 secs for each rep my recovery was approx 46 secs. I couldn't go any quicker. The reps went as follows 76, 74, 74, 74, 74, 74, 74, 74, 74, 71. Just glad to get through the session. My Garmin was reading 420m so maybe the reps were a little long but I do recall Rich Palmer mentioning that he measured the Oval with a wheel. Maybe I'm wrong...

Fool's Gold/What the World Is Waiting for?

Another day of running when I'd a crosstraining day pencilled into my calendar. Ah well, I'll never learn. Missed Springer and Judge Drev at the start of the 10k loop and went out for an easy stroll on my own. Bumped into Phil Dove and decided to run with him for a while, he was running at 3.30 pace and and after keeping up with him for a few km's I dropped off the pace and got back into an easy stroll. Coming back from the opera house I met Springer and the Judge and ran with the boys for the remaining 5km of the 10k loop. Greg ran with us for a while but felt are pace was a little fast. Springer was keen to push the pace at the front and we were running around 3.50 per/k for the majority of the run. It's this type of session that I need to incorporate into my training. I've been feeling stronger recently so I will try to make this session a regular occurrence.

HuRT squad

I got out for a session with the HuRT squad today, the planned session was for 8 by 5mins with a 90 sec recovery. I opted for 6 reps and felt really comfortable out there even with the mercury hitting 27C.
The pace of the reps per km were 3.29, 3.28, 3.26, 3.27, 3.26, 3.14. For the first 5 reps I stayed around 10 metres behind Tom and a few metres ahead of Springer, Enda and Tim.
Felt good in the last rep even though Judge Drev went by me and then I let Anthony go by with about 500m left but reeled him with about 200m left. Happy with the session and good to hear Durante is training hard in Thailand.

Happy Mondays - yeah, yeah yeah

After my long run on Sunday, spent the rest of the day drinking beer among friends. Great day had by all but I did not feel fantastic when I lifted my lazy head from the pillow this morning. I was planning a cross training day but when I received an email from Tom I felt it was a better idea to get out into the sun and sweat the beer out me.
Struggled initially but felt more comfortable later on in the run. We ran for 60 mins approx and covered a little over 13km. I forgot to mention it yesterday but 'run of the year' so far must go to Terence Bell. He covered the 6foot in 3.53. Stellar effort by the big man and 11th place overall. Rich Palmer ran a pb of 4.26 and was very glad to cross the line as he was suffering from cramps in the latter phase of the race. I really need to give the 6foot a proper crack next year...

When the chips are down

Well I didn't predict the winner of the sixfoot, glad I didn't put any money down. Dave is aiming for a pb in Canberra and decided to hold off from running and with Fat's new arrival he also decided to pull the plug. Bumped into Fat's partner Amanda this morning in centennial and saw the beautiful baby Beatrix. Both mother and baby looked fantastic.
Went out for a hill session on Saturday, ran to centennial and ran 6 by 720m stretch up to Wollahra gates averaging 2.42 for each rep.
On Sunday hooked with Tim and Enda and ran for 100 mins, we took it relatively easy at the start and pushed it at end running 4m/k for last 4ks. The legs are feeling much better now and I think I can start ramping it up again. On the betting front, put a wager on with Tim. I think Durante will beat Tom in a 10k striders race this year. I only stand to lose $50, just need to push Durante in training...

Who will win the sixfoot?

I know there are one or two quicker runners in the field but I think Fats or Uncle Dave will win it. Rumour has it that Dave is only using the sixfoot as a training run but I can't see that happening. If I had to put money on it I think Dave will take it out. My good friend Richard Palmer is also running and I think he will pb it relatively easy and run close to 4 hours.
Got out for an easy 40 mins today, ran the last 20 with the Judge Drev who is looking to run a good time in NSW road champs in May.

She Bangs the Drums

On Wednesday went to the gym for a cross training session that encompassed a little cardio with some weight training. Went out for a session with the boys - 8 by 800m with a 2 min recovery. Durante, Tom and Serg ran in the front averaging 2.28 per rep and they looked pretty comfortable. Tim Craddock who is off to South Africa to run the 56k Two Ocean Ultra was just behind the guys in 2.32. I took the first fews reps relatively easy, the reps went as follows 2.48, 2.47, 2.42, 2.41, 2.40, 2.40, 2.39, 2.25. I decided to sit on the back of Tim from the last rep and pushed by him after 400m and caught Tom on the line for a fast 400m. Have a few niggles 'outside of the left knee' was sore after cross training but I didn't feel anything while running with the boys.
I've uploaded some photos from the Tokyo website....this auld song captures it for me...

I dont feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow I feel weak
Passion fruit and holy bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her here she comes

She bangs the drums

Time to take a rest...

Went out with the HuRT squad today, it's a new name for the Tues/Thurs squad. Chris Graham came up with the name (Hickson Road Training) Squad and we all know these sessions HRT U).
Anyhow I struggled through the 3k reps, I ran two reps at 3.35 pace and kept close to Tim and Springer for the two reps. As the rest of the guys ran 2 more 3k reps I opted to run two more 1k reps at 3.35. I was shattered at the end of the session. I realise the 10k race at the weekend was bad idea and I need to hold off on the speed sessions as I haven't fully recovered from the Tokyo marathon.
I've changed the blog name to an old album favourite of mine...

Recovery

Durante sent a text early on Sunday and I was delighted he wanted to give the early long run a miss. Poor Tim had to fly solo in centennial but he still managed to run an impressive 24k. Durante and I got out later in the afternoon and we managed an easy 90 mins. We pushed the last 6k and I was pretty shattered at the end.
Ended up venturing to the flicks to see "run fatboy run" which i'm afraid to say is very average.
I'm glad I didn't run with the boys today as I was feeling pretty tired, I opted for a cross training session and topped the day off with a massage.
I need to change the blog name....nobody seems to like the new name. Great run by Tucks in Orange at the weekend and a decent run by Guzzo up in Japan.

Striders 10k North Head

Beautiful day out in North Head for the 10k Striders race. I ended up running 35.57, which is a tad quicker than Lane Cove last month. I felt fine for the first 3k, Durante and Enda flew by me and I struggled to maintain the pace after the that. Definitely some residual tiredness in the legs. Went back out onto the course and ran with my sis in law Gerso for the last km. Great to see Ger run a PB by over a minute. Well done Gerso.
Speaking of PB's, the plaudits must go to Durante today. He ran 34.15 and powered home in 3 mins flat for the last km. Enda a fellow Irishman also ran a super PB 34.37The two boys "Springer" and my got auld ex-trainning partner "Rich Palmer" both ran sub 35 min 10k for first time. Uncle Dave who i didn't get a chance to talk to ran 32.05 which is great confidence booster going into the 6foot next week. Superflake and Blue Dog both ran PBs which sets them up nicely for Canberra in 5 weeks.
Best of luck to Tucks and Kate Coburn tomorrow in the Orange half.
After chatting to Tom I don't think it's a great idea to run another marathon in 5 weeks time. The focus will be targetting a 10k pb...