Cruising along...

Fri: Easy 8k
Sat: Out with Durante for a hilly session. Jogged from Surry Hills to Rushcutters and ran the rest of the C2S. From the 5k marker, increased the pace and worked the hills - got to 10k with a 5k split of 19.30. Took it easy down to Bondi Beach and then worked the hill from the beach to the Junction. All up 23k.
Sun: After a lovely dinner at Sophie's and Jame's, I got out the door early and ran for about 25 mins on my own before I met Steve Thurston. I was cruising at 4.45 avg pace but that soon dropped down to 4.35. Shortly after 7am, we met up with Durante, Mike and Andy and we ran the outside loop of the park. Andy gave me the low-down on his 10 London marathons and his marathon pb is quite impressive 2.36. I worked the hills with Steve and it seemed to give me an energy bolt. For the first time since Berlin, I wasn't tired at the end of the long run.
All up 31.7k in 2.25 with an avg pace of 4.35. Got home in time to watch Haille take out the Great Australian Run. He is a machine.

800s * 8 (90 sec recovery)

Got caught in a meeting at lunch so I didn't catch-up with the HuRT squad and ended up going out on my own. Inital aim was to hit 2.40, the first rep was 2.37 and it felt pretty comfortable. I hit the next 6 at 2.37 and banged out the last one in 2.32. The session felt pretty easy, might have something to do with the afternoon heat.

MLR 19K

Out early with Steve Thurston, Durante and Eamo. Shattered again this morning so much so I struggled to keep with the boys on the wollarha hill. I even took a short-cut at the Oxford Street gates. All up 19k with the avg pace 4.34. No rest for the wicked as I am trying to build up my endurance..

Slow train coming

With lots of different priorities I've decided to hold off running a marathon until I can put a good 16 weeks of training together. Realistically that means I won’t run another until late next year. In the meantime I will continue to train and at the moment I will focus on building my endurance.
Met up with the HuRT squad for a 45 min fartlek session (1 min fast, 30 sec slow). From the start I felt flat struggled to maintain the pace in the latter half of the session. I ran side by side with Richard High and probably should have backed off. The return leg was tough, got to 10km around 35.20, took a short cut back with Durante to avoid the Opera Hse loop. From 9k onwards I struggled and my avg pace for the fast and recovery reps kept getting slower and slower. I think the legs are a little tired after the weekend’s effort and I failed to give them sufficient rest on Monday. Richard High is going well and I expect him to go very well in the sixfoot. Congrats to Richard Palmer on his fantastic achievement in the Mark Webber challenge - First corporate team!

Recovery Day

Caught up with the boys (Clarky, Tom, Muz, Serg, Steve, Mike, Andy) on a recovery run. Serg, Clarky and Steve split the group after 10 mins running close to sub 4 min/k. I ran with the boys all up 14k at 4.15m/k pace which is a tad too fast for a pure recovery run. For my V02 max based on Daniel's running formula, I should be running around 4.25-4.30 pace for my recovery runs. With 4.15m/k pace I am in no man's land. So I am not getting any real benefit. It's actually getting close to my Cruise tempo pace which is 3.58 (the pace I ran the 1/2 marathon on Sunday). Good to catch-up with the boys again. Need to convince Tom that he will take Truscott out.,...

Rambling on...

Fri: 8k easy domain
Sat: 2k run to the centennial, 6 short hill reps, 5 min rest, 5k tempo (in 17.34), 4k cool down.
Sun: 2k warm up, 1/2 marathon race Sri Chinmoy in Centennial Park in 83.40. The plan was to run at 4.20 and then increase the pace towards the end but went through the 1st km in 3.55, backed off a little and just maintained 4m/k for the majority the race. The garmin came in handy as the the terrain was pretty uneven and it was difficult to maintain an even pace. Chris Truscott joined me for a few km's, he's getting ready for the state 5k in Jan, he reckons he will crush Tom and is willing to bet a case of beer on it....

400s by 10

Didn't get a chance to get out for a decent run on Wednesday so only managed to run into work in the morning and ran home late last night.
Pretty tired today so the plan was to take it easy but got through the first rep in 72 and more or less continued that for the remaining 9. Tom and Killer were in front and Steve Thurston was miles ahead averaging 64 seconds. Shattered after the session, I need to catch-up on sleep this weekend.

HuRTS 4 x (3k)

Another decent crowd but it was noticeable that a few of the front runners were missing (Muz, Serg and Durante). Still and all, Charlie and Clarky went to the front for the first rep, I latched on to them and we ended up 80m short of the stone gates. Well they finished approx 10m ahead of me. Tom was taking it easy for the first few reps running with MC, Enda, Richard High, Killer and English Andy. I ran the second rep in 9.31. I ran comfortably hard for the 3rd rep as Killer, Clarky and Charlie pushed the pace from the start and got to the stone gates well within the 10 min marker. I was again 60-70m short with Tom right behind my back. I felt pretty tired on the way back for the last rep which took 9.55. The wind was pretty strong on the return leg. Happy with the session overall. Tom seems to think I want to include some extra awards for the HuRT squad's annual awards night. Not true...but I think we should have best overseas performance of the year as an outright category ;)

Recovery Monday

Easy 12k with boys. Left the domain and went out to Hickson road and I opted for the shorter route on the way back by heading up Macquarie Street. Big crowd for a Monday - Serg, Clarky, Steve, Durante, Conway, Ray (who disappeared before I had a chance to chat to him) and a few other guys I didn't even know.

On the road again...

Can't stay away from the road. Out for an easy 8k run on Sat and out again Sunday morning with Steve Thursten and Eamo for a nice long run. Eamo is looking strong for Kepler in NZ in Dec. He was out with Fats and Terence for an easy 35k run on Sat and backed up well on Sunday. We chatted about the important races next year and whether we should use a coach to help us...All up 28k in 2.02. Legs were tired for the last 2k but good to test the knee out. Need to drop my new coach an email ;)

Sayonara, Auf Wiedersehen, Arrivederci, Au Revoir, Adeus

You got to be honest with yourself in this sport. 19.03 was not the time I was looking for in JP Morgan. I actually thought I'd run close to 18.30. Fortunately I had Dave Clark and Michael Killacoat in the team to ensure we took out the men's team comp. I obviously had knee issues going into the race but I wasn't in the right head space from the start which by the way I nearly missed. I had to sprint 300m from the Kiosk to actually make the start. I continue to repeat the same mistakes, I am not sure why I took 2 Berocca before the start of the race as I've never taken them before any other race. Anyhow, my stomach was in knots from the start.
I'll quit the whinging, great runs by my Macquarie colleagues, it's really hard to believe how Dave Clark could compete in a half ironman on the Sunday (6th place as well) and run a sub 18 min in the JP Morgan. Run of the day goes to Tom, it gives us all hope to see him get better and better. He's put in the hard yards and deserves all the plaudits he received last night. Poor Durante...that's all I can say mate...Timmy was right...you looked pale before the race. Enda had a great run of 18.45 and his streak over me continues. Kate Coburn ran very well 3rd place overall for the girls. Well what about the winner...Steve Thurston! Super front running. It was great to tell people in the office that I run with the guy most days.
Got the knee checked out and it's all good news, well there is no structural damage (ligaments and tendons are fine), just have Patella femoral Pain Syndrome which was caused by a direct blow to the knee (you really don't want to know how it happened). A bit of strength work in the quads will sort me out.
That's it for me now for while, it's been a great year of running. After a injury plagued 2007, I got the opportunity to run 2 big city marathons. I ran a 10k and C2S PB. Looking forward to 2009 already, I will be targeting PBs in the half and the marathon. Looks like I need to hit the Gold Coast to settle a score....

Time for a few prayers..

Pulled up sore after a run on Thursday. I have some swelling at the back of my knee. The physio recommend I rest for 10 days. Not really an option with JP Morgan next week. Since the physio appointment the pain has radiated from the back of the knee to the hamstring. Not good...time for a few prayers.
I was suppose to run a 3k time trial with Durante, Serg and Muz. Durante went through 3km in 8.58 dropping both Serg and Muz..the kid is flying. He's looking good for JP. Best of luck to Steve T and Tom tomorrow in the state 3k.

400s off 2 mins...

Out with Robbie, Killacoat, Chris Graham and Tom was a little late. I lead from the from the front for the first 5 reps with Killer just sitting on my shoulders. Robbie was a second or two back. On the 6th rep, Killer upped the tempo and Robbie followed him for a few reps but Killer was pretty comfortable running 66s and finished off with a 62. I'm so glad he's part of the Macquarie JP Morgan team. Can't believe Dave Clarke has decided to enter the Port Macquarie Half at the weekend...in saying that he will probably run very well at JP Morgan. Tom was a little out of sorts this morning, he really doesn't like running on his own.

72, 71, 71, 70, 71, 69, 70, 71, 70, 69

Went for a 30 min run at lunch with a good friend Bron, I spotted Terence running over the top of Enda in a gate to gate session. He's getting strong....

Happy Mondays - yeah, yeah yeah

Had a lovely brunch on Sunday arvo and went to bed early on Sunday evening so felt well rest waking up Monday morning. Ran to work early and stopped off in the gym for some core work.
Out for a run with the boys at lunch (Serg, Tom, Durante, Enda, Steve, Muz & Aus)for a quick 14k run in 27c. Serg is struggling, his heart rate hit 175! So it was more like a tempo run for him...

Going long...

Out with Steve and Durante for a long run in Centennial. Durante still recovering from his cold ran for 80 mins, Steve ran for 90 mins and I continued on and ran just over 2 hours averaging 4.22 km/m. I was pretty tired at the start of the run but felt more comfortable as the run progressed. Will decide later in the week if it is worth racing the 3000m on the track next week so close to JP Morgan.
It will be interesting to see how Radcliffe goes in New York later today, i suspect Wami and Catherine the great will give her a run for her money. Kara Goucher might surprise a few in her debut. Tergat at 39 will find the going tough against the Morrocan Goumri.

Running on empty.....

I had an interesting run in Lane Cove today, to be honest I had nothing in the legs from the start. After a week of decent speedwork, I expected to run a lot better. Ended up with something like 35.40. From the start the legs felt heavy and I couldn't get into a decent rhythm. Back to the drawing board as I need to pick up a bit of speed for JP Morgan. After today's effort, I don't think I have the physical or mental strength to contemplate running Dubai or Hobart.
Durante was sick so we didn't get a chance to witness the duel with Tom. Tom had also a below par performance with 33.4* odd. Steve Thurston also struggled running low 32s to finish in 3rd place. The only decent run from the HuRT squad came from Muz with a 33.02. Muz is looking very good for the JP Morgan race mid-Nov. Well done to Kate Coburn with her podium finish. Uncle Dave took out the striders series comfortably beating Chris Truscott. Not sure where Dave gets it from but he rarely has a poor race. Fair play to him!