Thursday, April 10, 2008

Speed play

Very busy at the moment so just got out for an easy 8k run with Tom on Wednesday. I knew I wouldn't get out with the HuRT squad today so I got up early and went down to Rushcutters and did an interval session of 12*400 with a 50 sec standing recovery. The reps were covered in 74 secs. The first few and the last few were tough. This session is easier to do with a group.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Dave Kane pre-surgery

Out with the HuRT squad for 6 by 5 mins with a 90 sec recovery. I discussed pacing with Mike and Enda at the start and was planning on running 3.35 (supposedly half marathon pace) thus making this a lactate threshold session. Maybe it was the cross training yesterday but I felt real good out there today and the session was essentially a V02 max session as I was running a fair bit quicker than my current 10k pace. I felt like the Dave Kane pre-surgery, running smoothly without really pushing it. There was no real strategy but I took it easy at the start of each rep and lifted the pace slightly after 2 mins of running. Tom and the Judge Drev looked comfortable at the front running 3.20s. Serg was out of sorts as he is just coming back from a bout of illness. Enda is taking a leaf from Charlie's book and running very controlled at 3.35 pace and Mike who is also returning from illness stayed with Enda throughout. Durante was strong for all the reps and looked strong (my bet is safe, he will run 32.37 in GC). Anthony looked strong throughout and is likely to be a Dad by the next time the HuRT squad meet - hope it all goes well. Springer took it easy today as he preparing for Canberra at the weekend and my guess is that he will cruise to 2.44.

The pace of the reps were as follows 3.28, 3.26, 3.27, 3.22, 3.25, 3.14.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

The times they are a-changin'

Sat - Lane Cove 10k
The Stiders series was back to the hilly lane cove. With the cold I had during the week I was going to give it a miss but decided on Friday to head out and have a crack. Ended up with 35.20 which i was very happy with. The only splits I got were 10.32 at 3k, 17.58 at 5k and 32.11 at 9k. Hopefully I can continue the improvement (36.10 Lane Cove Feb, 35.57 North Head Mar)and dip under 35 in Homebush next month. Some very impressive runs from the HuRT squad with Tom running a very fast 33.16. Tim with 35.52 can now look forward to attacking his marathon pb in London. The girls (Liv, Gill & Ger) decided not run as they don't like hills. Note there will be a few hills in the Sydney half in May. As for Big Bear he's opted for early hibernation. I'll just keep plugging away.
Sun - 24k - 1.50
Throat was a little sore this morning and I had a good few drinks at Sonja's birthday bash yesterday so I texted Terence early and told him I'd give it a miss but 20 mins later jumped out of bed and got on the road to centennial. Ran on my own for the first 30 mins and then bumped into Tim who was running at a lot faster than my 4.45k/m. Kept with Tim for another 40 odd minutes (last long run for Tim before London) and ran on my own for the rest of the session keeping the average pace to 4.36 which felt pretty comfortable.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

3x3k

Out with the HuRT squad today. Feeling crook this morning but felt running the session might actually sweat the cold out of me. Large crowd again - Charlie, Fats, Enda, Tom, Mike, Tim, Peter Walker, Ray, Anthony, Judge Drev, Springer and Mike Race. Durante was there but didn't run the session as he is recovering from a cold.
Stayed near the front for the 1st rep as the pace was relatively comfortable even with the hills (pace 3.38). The second rep was a lot easier with the downhill section(pace 3.24). Mike dropped out after the 2nd as he didn't feel well. I opted for the 3rd rep and struggled up the hills letting Enda get away from me. Fats, Anthony, Tom, Charlie and the Judge were a good 60m ahead. I was surprised that I ran the last rep in 3.38 pace. I jogged back down the hill feeling pretty ordinary. Some of the boys opted for a 4th rep and I'm not sure where they get the energy. Looking forward to attempting four reps the next time this session comes around. Fats and Tom looked very strong today, it's a pity Fats is not running Lane Cove this weekend as he would have a very good crack at his pb. I plan to rest and try to get rid of this cold...

Monday, March 31, 2008

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.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

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'...

Friday, March 28, 2008

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.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

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.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

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.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

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.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

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.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

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...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

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.

Monday, March 10, 2008

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...

Sunday, March 9, 2008

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...

Friday, March 7, 2008

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.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

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

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

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...

Monday, March 3, 2008

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.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

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...

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The short road to rotterdam

With work commitments, I failed to get out for a run on Monday. On Tuesday, I squeezed in an 800 session with Tim. After a quick warm-up run to rushcutters we got straight into the session. The reps went as follows

2.37
2.37 (2 min recovery)
2.37 (1.55 recovery)
2.37 (1.50 recovery)
2.38 (1.45 recovery)
2.37 (1.40 recovery)
2.36 (1.35 recovery)
2.28 (1.30 recovery)

We changed the session slightly to reduced the recovery time. Given the marathon was 10 days ago I was happy to get through the session unscathed.

On Wednesday, got out for an easy 9.3k run with Durante. We met Springer in the domain and we chatted lots - who will win the sixfoot?, 10k race on Saturday, Durante's bro's performance in the league final and the feasibility of Kanser running Rotterdam on the 14th of April. We'll see...

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Equaliser

Got out for a few 40 min recovery runs during the week and was pleased that the legs were recovering well. Got out the door at 5.30am on Sunday and hooked up with Tim and the Tancred's for the Striders 14k equaliser on the North Shore. Opted to take it easy over the hilly terrain and finished the run in 1.12. The ankle didn't like the downhill portion as it was difficult to maintain control. I suppose the orthotics inserts since the surgery don't really help on that terrain. Might make a trip to the podiatrist to see if I can run without them. Some great runs out there today, Tim Lindop, Ray Wareham and the winner Uncle Dave. The Unc will be pretty confident going into the sixfoot after pipping Fats today.
Watched the football final and it was great to see Durante's bro win the man of the match award.
Will pick up the training this week and hopefully I will be able to give the striders 10k in north head a good auld crack next week. Still no name change to the blog, current titles i'm considering 'second coming', 'bringing it all back home' and the 'the road to rotterdam'....watch this space!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Recovering well

On Mon & Tues, the quads were a little stiff but other than that the legs seem to be fine. Did plenty of walking (well shopping) through Tokyo. Instead of drinking the copious amounts japanese beer we downed lots of pints of the black stuff, yeah they seemed to have guinness in every bar we entered. As an Irishman I didn't complain.
Got out for an easy 7k today and the legs felt pretty good. Need to sit down and target some races. Looking forward to catching up with the Tues/Thurs crew again. Will do my best to get out for every session, I'm sure keeping up with the like of Tom, Mike Conway, Tucks, Serg, Durante, Springer, Anthony and Tim will keep me honest.
The goal now will be to target a 10k pb but might venture up to the blue mountains and run the 6 foot track again as a long training run. Check out the site. www.sixfoot.com.
Here is a link to the Tokyo marathon website with a video of Dave Kane crossing the finish line. You can see (NOT) that I am really pushing it towards the finish.

http://www.ntv.co.jp/tokyomarathon/goalmovie/

Number 24091 is my "bib number." Enter this number into the box that says "search." Then hit play on the right side of the screen. I'm in a black top, blackshorts and white compression socks. You might laugh but I purchased the compression socks after a calf niggle i picked up a while back. Of note, I'd no calf stiffness at all after the race. Enter in bib number 2 and you'll see Rothlin storming to a 2.07 finish. He might go all the way in Beijing..mmmm need to change the title of blog!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

2.52

Stoked with the result today. It took a while to get going as I was seeded in the b group so didn't get to 10k until well over 40 mins (40.40 approx), I suppose the leak at 8k didn't help. Focussed on maintaining 4k/m until around 34k and then started to slow. At 40k I knew I was on course for around 2.52 so just held steady until the end without pushing the pace.
Big bear stormed home in 3.13 for a massive pb(25 mins quicker than Canberra last yr). Super effort by the Bear and deserves it with all his hard work. Great support out on the course (my wife Liv, sis in law Gillo and Jen and Katlyn). The Japanese really love the marathon, the crowds lined the course from start to finish (approx 1.7m cheering 25,000 marathon runners throu' the streets of Tokyo.
I will use the Tokyo marathon as a springboard to my racing exploits in 2008. Delighted with my effort when you consider I only started running again in Oct (weighing a chunky 87kg - lost 9kg in the process). Already looking forward to the next one but for now I will head out on the town with Big Bear and the crew tonight....

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Tuning in Tokyo...

I took it very easy on Monday, just a 20 min stroll in the domain. I ran the last 10 mins with Serg and Anthony Murrell. I noticed on Superflake's blog that Serg ran Sunday's 30k Star. He confirmed his attendance (you can't do much in Sydney with all the blogs floating around) and felt the going tough in the last few kms keeping up with Fats and Truscott. He's looking at running the Gold Coast marathon in July. He's got five months and with his half time 68.58 he should have no problem running 2.35 for his first one.
Went for a massage in Jackie's after work and spent the rest of the evening working on my core and doing some stretches after a hot bath.
The Tuesday session was 3 by 10 mins with 3 min recovery. I opted for a very easy session. One 3k rep at 3.45 pace, then 1 min on (3.30 pace) by 5, 1 min off (slow jog). Large crowd in attendance, Mike Harrison pushed the pace at the front (he was surprisingly caught in the last rep by a new guy who looked very comfortable pushing 3.15 pace). Tim Craddock, Springer & Anthony looked very strong for all the reps. Tucks as he does every week was close to front and ran at his own pace (bang on his lactate threshold pace of around 3.24). Ray who keeps his best running for key races held back again today. I wonder if Tom was surprised with Ray's sub 33 on Friday night?
Flying out in the morning and I'm planning on doing very little in the lead up to the race (5 - 8k easy). I've run six 6 marathons and 2 ultra's (sixfoot is classed as an ultra), each time I've ran a tad quicker (Gold Coast '04 - 3.20, Honolulu '05 - 3.19, Canberra - 3.18, Melbourne - 2.55, Canberra - 2.47 & Auckland - 2.46). I only got back running in October after surgery in August so I really didn't think I'd have any chance of running quicker than Auckland but with last week's 35.19 I'm in with a very slim chance. The plan is to ease into it in Tokyo, run 4m/k for 25k and see how I go. If I can the hold pace I'll finish in 2.48.48. If I run a tad quicker in the second half I might have a chance of a pb. Either way, I'm happy with the progress over the last few months and the base I've built will serve me well for the racing calendar of '08. My brother in law Chris (Big Bear) will definitely run a pb...

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Easy Sunday run

Ran 2k to Centennial and met up with Durante 7.30am. We ran for about 1hr before we bumped into Tim Lindop. We ran for another 30 mins. Not sure of the distance as I forgot to switch the garmin on. Probably 20k all up. Chatted to Damien Tancred at the end of the run, he was heading out for a 16k tempo run. He is tossing up the idea of running the Ironman in WA in Nov. Less than a week left....

Friday, February 8, 2008

35.19

Had a little calf niggle so I took Thurs off and tested the calf out on Friday with an easy 3km in the domain with Tim Lindop. The calf was a little tight but fine to run so headed to the track in Homebush. I was pretty excited to be toeing the line with Lee Troop (who has run a 2.09 marathon and already qualified for the Olympics). Discussed times with my lap scorer Chris (Big Bear) and felt I should go for 35 mins flat.
I felt pretty comfortable at the start and focussed on trying to run even 400s but it was very difficult to keep track of my splits. I was running solo for most of the way as Tucks was looking at running close as possible to 32 mins and Ray was looking at running a sub 33 min. I went through 5k in 17.29 and then started to lose around 2secs per lap. Chris gave me plenty of encouragement from the sidelines as did Serg and his father which was great. Happy with 35.19 which is 50 secs quicker than Lane cove last week.
Fantastic run by Ray 32.54 and Tucks 31.54. Chris Truscott who also ran Lane cove last week ran 31.43 which was 50 odd secs quicker than last week. It's also his quickest run in 10 years. Troopy won in 29.19 and I had a great chat with him at the end. He's already qualifed for the Olympics and will run the Lake Biwa (Japan) marathon in 3 weeks time. It will also give him the opportunity to get over to Beijing to review the Olympic course. Fellow strider Guzzo is also looking very good (29.57) at the moment as he prepares for Lake Biwa.

http://www.nswathletics.org.au/answ/live_state/080208F160.htm

http://www.nswathletics.org.au/

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Taper

Easy run with Durante and Tom. We ran the 6k Corporate Cup course in the domain. Very odd weather for Feb. It was hot and humid at lunch and raining when I ran home. Left calf was little tight, will need to monitor it prior to Friday night's race.