I expected something, something better than before, I expected something more...

The title is from a favorite band of mine - the national and it pretty much sums up how the Berlin marathon went for me today. Obviously the race didn't go as planned. My form leading into the race (CS2 and numerous 10ks) indicated that I was capable of 2.40. I even modified my training to incorporate longer runs, faster long run finishes, more tempo runs etc...so what went wrong!
Well I definitely got my nutrition wrong (I should of listened to Phil Dove). Just after half way I vomited and from 22k I had terrible stomach cramps so I ran/walked to the finish line. I initially thought I could get rid of the cramps but after 25k I knew I just couldn’t shake them.
At this stage every man and his dog started to pass me and i considered pulling out around 28k but given i've completed all the marathons that I've entered I struggled onto the finish line. And what a spectacular finish, with throngs of supporters cheering the runners to the finish line.
Won't go into the detail but I obviously have a problem with gels. I don't think the powerbar 45 mins before the start helped me either. After 2k I just didn't feel right. I possibly overloaded on carbs in the 3 days leading up to the race. I've taken endura optimiser and magnesium before but something upset the stomach. I didn't have any issues in Tokyo this yr but I do recall have issues in Auckland.
I also never felt comfortable during my 3 week taper, the easy runs felt a little harder than normal in saying that the intervals sessions felt easier. My last session (4 by 800s) on the Wed were run in 2.25 avg and it felt comfortable.
Anyhow, Tom texted me after the race and felt I deserved more than 2.54. True and this made me think of one of my favorite movies 'Unforgiven'. In the final scene, Will Munny (Eastwood) is about to blow Dagett's (Hackmans) head off. Dagett felt he didn't deserve to go out like this; he started to ramble on about being a good citizen etc. Munny retorted 'it's got nothing to do with deserving'. This holds true for the marathon. That is the beauty of the beast. You can prepare all you want but there are so many variables in play that can hinder your performance.
After the race i said 'never again' but as I write this I know I won't be content until I run 2.40. Lessons will be learnt and I plan to come back bigger, stronger and better than before.
Finally I would like to thank everyone for all the support in the days leading up to the race. Obviously, the HuRT Squad (Tom, Durante, Serg, MC, Tim, Terance, Enda, Eamo, Tucks, Steve T, Fats & Tim C). Fellow Sydney striders and coolrunners - Uncle Dave, Superflake and Amanda. Good friends Rich Palmer and Kate Coburn. Family support has been fantastic - Big Bear, Gillo and Gerso. Must mention Ger (father in law) and my younger bro Derek for coming and supporting me in Berlin. On the way back to the hotel Derek being totally honest commented 'i think i would of bet you today!' You gotta love him. Special thanks to my beautiful pregnant wife Livo who was watching the race from London. Can't wait now to meet up tomorrow for our 10 day break in Italy - promise no running talk.
Nearly forgot! (Jesus u swear i ran a pb the way I'm banging on) but you got praise the man himself 'Haile' for such a super run and world record. I was pretty close to him at the start, he was all smiles for the fans just before his assault at the world record.
See you on the road,

Kanser

Nearly there..

The glorious weather in Ireland has continued. Left Killarney via Tralee and got a ferry from Tarbert into Clare. From there we went to the majestic cliffs of Moher. We then drove via the Burren before settling in Salthill in Galway.
Went for a beautiful 8k run along the Salthill promenade and had a little difficulty maintaining 3.45 (marathon pace) for the last 2k of the run. Will put it down to a little bit of tiredness. On Wednesday out for another 8k run with 4 by 800 sandwiched in the middle of the session. With a 2 min recovery between each rep the session went very well. Apparently the Yasso 800s are a good indicator of marathon time...time will tell! I had a massage in the evening from a Polish lady, it's amazing the influx of Polish nationals in Ireland. Crazy when you think about it, I'd my breakfast served by a Polish, bought the paper off a Polish person and the barman who served me a pint of guinness was- Polish.
I've started to carbo load now and in the next few days will focus on getting my nutrition right so I can have a good crack running 2.40. The results of the marathon will be posted on the offical Berlin marathon site.

From Guinness to Black Pudding

Well in the last week I've been eating and drinking for Ireland and Australia. I can't go an evening without some beautiful creamy pints of Guinness and in the morning I aways start off with a continental breakfast and end up with a full Irish breakfast - you got to love buffets.
After an awful Irish summer, the weather has been great and it's been great catching up with family and friends. I really forgot how beautiful Ireland is especially the countryside. It was a glorious day for Mossie's wedding and you couldn't ask for a more beautiful location - Glandore in West Cork. From the Rebel County we left for the Kingdom of County Kerry and explored the Dingle Peninsula. It was great to watch the All Ireland final in a pub in Kerry. Kerry were going for 3 in row and got beaten by Tyrone in a very exciting game. Kerry supporters are very unforgiving and there was a famous incident a few years back when the Kerry manager told a reporter 'Kerry supporters are the worst kind of f*** supporters and you can print that'. Apparently he was giving a compliment of sorts...well they called for his head but hung on for another year to bring another All Ireland to the Kingdom.
I did manage to get a few runs in, early on saturday I went for run along Clonakilty Bay(Michael Collins hometown, the man who brought the British Empire to it's knees during the War of Independence in 1921 - a hero of mine). This morning I went for a run in Killarney National Park along the lake. Quite an awe inspiring run as I ran into a herd of red deer. Will head up along the West Coast for a few more days and then head back to Dublin and then onto Berlin.
I had a quick look at the Sydney marathon results and noticed the front runners had a difficult 2nd half. Obviously the weather was factor as I thought Chris Truscott was in better shape than 2.38. In saying that Darren Moyle (5th) and Greg Graves (6th) both ran 2.37 but both slowed up in the 2nd half as did strider veteran's Cam Arnold and Steve Jackson. Maybe the guys went out a little quick as Jo Blake and Chris Graham ran an even split. They say even splits are the way to go...really need to start focusing on Berlin again.
Gerso ran the half and as usual ran a 5 min pb (1.47) beating Big Bear who was 10 sec slower in the Dublin half (tougher course and hot conditions and the bear was suffering from jetlag). Dec Kelly who ran 1.44 in Dublin half is looking good for a 3.45 finish in Dublin at the end of October. The buffet is still open better get down there for my daily feed of black pudding ;)

Back in the Emerald Isle

Joined up with the HuRT Squad on Tuesday for a fartlek session. 1 min on 30 sec float. With the 800 session in the morning i was planning on running 25 mins hard with the squad, I joined up with the boys 8 mins into the session. Steve Thurston, Serg, Tom, Muz and a new guy Ryan were out in front. Stuck with the boys at the front and felt pretty comfortable. Steve and I got away from the front group along Hickson Road and I stayed with Steve until my 25 mins was up. Steve is really showing his form at the moment I hope Tom or one of the boys drag him out to the next Striders 10k race.
On Tues evening, I met up with some of the HuRT Squad (Tom, Enda, Terence, Chalks -soon to join the group, Charlie, Durante) for a few beers in the bavarian beer cafe). Of course we had more than a couple of beers and I really struggled to get up for work on Wednesday. Not sure who to blame but it always seems to be myself Tom and Durante propping up the bar at the end of the night.
I must be getting use to the long haul flight as it wasn't too bad. Went out for a 45min easy jog around my hometown this morning. Apparently the weather has been terrible recently but it was beautiful and sunny this morning.
Will take it easy from now until Berlin. Just a mix of easy 40-50 min sessions with the odd marathon pace thrown in.
I will head down to Glandore in Cork for Mossie's wedding on Saturday and then travel around Ireland for 5 days before heading off to the race.

The spring is back....

Out for an easy 8k at lunch on Monday, it was pretty hot. Definitely noticing the change in the weather. I had a massage after work and the legs felt a lot better after it.
Out this morning for what was suppose to be an 800 session this morning. The first rep was covered in 2.25 and I am not too sure how quick the other 7 reps went. Well my garmin battery went so I had no clue to be honest but they felt fast. Good to get the mojo back as I was getting worried.

That 'flat' feeling

Fri: Ran into work and at lunch went out for an easy 40 min with Gerso. Lower stomach muscle is very tight and given me a little grief. I will go for a massage on Monday and hopefully release it.

Sat: Out at around 11am and was surprised by the temps, it was around 26C. I ran from Surry Hills down to rushcutters and then ran the rest of the city to surf course. I pushed it on the hills and was surprised as the legs were feeling a little heavy. I was glad to get to beach for a quick dip. The water was freezing only 15c. Ended up going over to John Hill's shop and buying some High Five gels with caffeine as my current stock of leppin gels are out of date.

Sun: Out for a long run with Mike. Ran to centennial and we kept the pace at 4.33 for 20 odd kms. The plan was to push the last 5k at MP (3.45 k/m). I'd taken two gels (one at 8k and another at 16k) and 3km into MP pace run I got a stomach cramp. I couldn't run through it. Mike continued on and ran the last 5k in 18 mins which will give him plenty of confidence for the half next week. To be honest I never felt great on the run. I've been feeling quite lethargic of late which is a surprise as I'm in the middle of the taper.
Obviously I won't take high five gels and will revert back to leppins thanks to Enda who has some spare stock. The high five gels are made up of simple carbs which give you an instant lift and the leppin gels are made up of complex carbs with a slow release of energy. I'd no issue with the leppin gels in Tokyo so i will use them for Berlin.
Will cut back the kms again this week and hopefully get a spring back in my step.
Great to hear Terence Bell win the 100km Glasshouse run up in Queensland. Very impressive given he didn't train for the event. He just decided mid-week to head up and give it a crack.

Which runners to wear...

Mon: Cross training day that included some cardio (bike work & the ecliptr) and some lights weights and core work

Tues: Ran into work and at lunch met up with the HuRT Squad for a session of 5 mins by 6. Legs were a little tired from the weekend efforts but I ran with the front group who that included Charlie, Muz, Serg, Durante and fast improving Steve Thurston. The pace of each rep was relatively consistent (about 3.18 k/m). The last one was slightly faster in 3.11 k/m. Running another 2 reps was an option as I was feeling pretty strong but I need to stick to my taper plan.
After work met up with Gerso for a 9k easy around the domain.

Wed: Forced rest day - too busy to get out!

Thurs: The plan was for 800s but the council were resurfacing the oval at 6.45am. Changed the session to 400s in and around rushcutters. I ran 10 reps avg'ing 72 off 60 secs. I felt a little flat and was surprised given I had a day off on Wednesday.

At the moment I am struggling to make a decision of which runners to wear in Berlin. I am having difficulty in securing Nike Zoom Elite in Australia so it's looking increasing likely that I will wear Nike Peagaus TC (light weight version of peagaus) OR Adizero Breeze. I need to test the breeze tomorrow. In saying that Big Bear is in the US and will get Nike Zoom marathoner and Saucony Sinister. Decisions, Decisions...I'm sure I'll make the right one.

You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

Sat 10k race North Head
I could think of plenty of Dylan quotes that could describe the weather on Saturday morning. The change in the weather was definitely extreme and with the 10k race in North Head there was no Shelter from the Storm.
The officials banged on about how bad the weather was and nobody should expect a PB, this basically let everyone off the hook. Uncle Dave asked me if I was planning on running it hard 'i'll give a crack but i'm pretty tired at the moment' Kanser now had two excuses tired legs and the severe weather.
Took off with the lead group and ducked in behind Charlie, I hit the 1k marker in 3.30 and didn't like pace so I had two options. Run it hard for 5k and then back track help Gerso for the last 5k OR be really selfish and just run it as marathon pace run. Opted for the latter, dropped off the pace from around 1.5k and stuck at around 3.43 avg pace until the last km and ran it hard to dip under 37 mins. I had a good look around and it was pretty obvious that the majority took the advice from the official and took the race relatively easy. Difficult to tell with Uncle Dave but I'm pretty sure he was put in the effort. There was talk at the start of forgetting about PBs but there is always one exception to the rule. Young Gerso (who's been working hard on her 3k's and 800s) banged out another consecutive pb. Tom commented afterwards that her pb in Lane Cove was obviously soft but no matter what race or how bad the conditions are Gerso runs a pb. Gerso first race was back in North Head in Sept 2007 and she ran it in 54.32, she now running 45.43 and I expected her to dip under 45 mins. Big Bear was back in action, he was suppose to pace Gerso but he's obviously been feeding on too much salmon. He struggled home a few seconds behind Gerso. Looking at the published results the majority ran about 60-90 secs slower...
Sun Long Run
None of the boys were keen to come out and run 36k with me but I got a call from Terence who was up for the challenge. I told him I wanted to run 28k at 4.30 pace and the last 8k just under 4 mins pace. Terence who is not blessed with natural speed but has the ability to run strong for long periods of time. He demonstrated his endurance capacity running 3.53 for the sixfoot and 2.47 in the Gold Coast.
I ran 2k to Centennial at 4.30 pace and continued on with Terence running the relatively flat 8k loops I tend to use for tempo sessions. I didn't feel tired when i woke up this morning so the 3hr afternoon nap on Saturday definitely helped. After 3.5 loops (28k), we upped the tempo and brought the pace down to 4m/k. The change in the pace was pretty comfortable and after 4k the pace was at 3.57, we then cut throu' the centre of the pack to finish off with 4 1k reps. The pace dropped to 3.55 and after 2.5 reps Terence fell off the pace slightly. My garmin battery died and I pushed the last 2 reps pretty hard (don't know the pace probably around 3.45). I ended up running home from centennial to bring the morning total to 40k in approx 2.55.
Good to get the last long run out of the way, pretty impressed with Terence's effort he was only 30 secs back at the end. He's looking to run some ultra's in the near future and I don't think he will have any difficult with stepping up. With 3 weeks left, I now enter the taper phase so I will gradually reduce volume but keep the intensity. I also need to get my nutrition right for the big day. In every marathon so far I tend to stop for a wee and lose 40-60 secs in the process - it's not happening in Berlin. People keep asking me how fast I'll run in Berlin. The answer my friend is blowing in the wind ;)

Easy Friday

Beautiful soft day for running. Out with Tom for an easy 40 mins run in and around the domain. Tom's back, he'll probably turn up and crush everyone tomorrow ;)

I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now

Mon: 10k recovery run. I was pretty tired and the calves were very tight after the race on Sunday.

Tues: Out with the HuRT Squad for 3 mins reps with 1 min standing recovery, I could only manage 10 as I needed to get back to work. The first 2 reps I ran on my own at 3.18 pace and I didn’t get a chance to recover for the 3rd rep so I just ran with Muz in 3.20. The rest of the reps were run a little quicker ranging from 3.08 – 3.12 pace. I was probably a few metres ahead of Muz for most of the reps but he looked to be running them very easy. I expect him to run very well in North Head on Sat (close to 33 min or maybe he will dip under it). Clarkey and Killacoat were running very strongly in front of me. Killacoat went out hard for each rep but Clarkey caught him on each rep.

PM: Out with Gerso for a 3k rep session. With an eye on Saturday’s race, Gerso opted for 2 reps and ran then at the first at 4.28 and the second one at 4.30 pace. Gerso is also hitting North Head and I’ve no doubt she will run another pb. All up 10k.

Wed: After missing out on a decent long run, I got out early on Wednesday, after a 9k warm-up (Rich Palmer joined me for most of it) the plan was for a 16k at marathon pace (3.50 pace for the 1st loop and 3.45 for the second loop). I wasn’t looking forward to the run as my legs felt very heavy during the warm-up. Tim Lindop joined myself and Rich for the 16k run. We seemed to be running into a headwind for most of the session. Rich wasn’t feeling great and dropped out at 5k. Tim took a break and joined again at 8k for 2k and at 13k for the last 3k effort. Great to have Tim there for the last 3k. Happy to keep the planned pace on very tired legs. All up 27k.

In the evening, headed out for a good few beers with Tom, Rich P and Phil Dove. Plenty of running talk and according to Phil I need to sort my nutrition big time for Berlin. Phil is heading back to London but I’m sure I’ll see him on the road again.

Thurs:
Out early with Gerso, Gillo & Big Bear (who is back running and looking bigger than ever). Gerso opted for 6 by 400s with the Bear and I decided to sprint the straights and jog the bends (8 laps in total). It was a relatively easy session and it finished up quite early which gave me plenty of time to get back to the gym and get some strength work in.
One more long run (36k) left before the taper. I will push the last 8k so I might get some of the boys out to help me..

I need direction..and 2nd place is not good enough!

Great tune from a the Scottish Band 'Teenage Fanclub' summed up my morning. I headed up to Cessnock on the Saturday so it wouldn't be much a drive to the Lake Macquarie Half. I left the guys at 6am (they decided to stay in Cessnock after staying up late playing poker and the weather was pretty average). Anyhow without going into too much detail I couldn't find Warner's Bay. I arrived shortly after the start of the half and planned to just use the course as a tempo. At the rego table I heard the 10.5 was starting in 40 secs, I filled out the form and dashed to the start about 10 secs after the gun. I worked my way throu' and was surprised to hit the 1k mark in 3.20 (but it was short -Richard Gardiner told me at the end he went throu' in 2.55 so it had to be short). The 2nd km marker was long and I start to reel in a few people. I was in 6th position at 3k and I hit 5k in 17.20 in 4th position. I caught the 2 guys in front of me at around 7k and I never caught sight of the front guy. The markers were more accurate as the 10k marker matched my garmin. Hit the 10k in 34.02. The last .5k felt pretty long and took me nearly 3 mins to finish. Finished up in 37.01 with a 2nd place finish. My garmin had 10.85 so the last 500m was definitely long. Richard Gardiner came home first in 36.20 and he mentioned that last year some guys comments on the course being about 300 to 400m long. Who cares, it wasn't the session I was looking forward. Ended up running back on the course and picking up Blue Dog for a 19k run in total.
I really wanted a long tempo hit out so i was pretty disappointed as time is running out for Berlin. I will re-work my plan this week and incorporate a long tempo. I need a good 10 days training before I enter taper mode.
Got back to Sydney and had no difficulty in finding the Cargo Bar where I met with Martin Harris 'mph' who is leaving Sydney for a new chapter in his life in the UK. I had the pleasure of running my first sub 3 hr marathon with Martin in Melbourne in 2005. You don't forget your first one...

800s * 8 (2 min standing recovery)

Down to rushcutters early and met up with Gerso. I was pretty tired, I hit 2.35 for every rep. Gerso ran 6 with an average of 3.30 and banged out the last rep in 3.19. I was pretty happy to run 2.35 for the last rep. I didn't have the energy to push it..

MLR

AM: Pretty tired this morning so when the alarm went at 5.30 I couldn't get up for my planned 90 min run. I headed to the gym for a cross training session (bike, eclitpir etc)
PM: Left work after 6pm and ran home and then went out to Moore park, legs were very heavy. I forgot my garmin and to be honest I was pretty glad as I didn't feel like pushing the pace. All up 88 mins.
Question for Superflake - What is the Lake Macquarie Half course like, I do recall you ran a pb up there a few years back. I'm heading up at the weekend. Anything I've read indicates the course is pretty flat but after Auckland in 2006 it's better getting a low down on the course from people who have ran it.

Out with the HuRT squad again

Mon: Easy 10k effort, legs were a little tired from the effort over the weekend.

Tues:
AM: Ran into work early and did some strength and stretching work.
Lunch: Out with the HuRT squad for a 4 by 3k session. I thought it was pretty hot there today so much so it was nice to run along the Art Gallery in the domain with the tree cover. Big crowd today, I decided I wanted to make it the Stone Gates today so stuck close to the front pack (Tom, Clarke, Charlie and Muz), the first rep felt fine until the last little climb out of the domain. Got to stone gates in 9.52 for the first rep.
Reps went as follows 9.52, 9.30, 10 mins (I was a few metres short on the 3rd rep), 9.40. Disappointed that I came up short by a few metres on the 3rd rep. Still and all, it was by far my best 4 by 3k session.
PM: After work went out for an easy 8k run with Ger, glad to get the legs moving again after the tough afternoon session.

Progressive run

After watching an awe inspiring men's Olympic marathon, I decided not to opt for a rest day and get a bit of training in. Went to the spare room and did some weights, worked on my ITB with the foam roller, ab work with the Bosu ball and plenty of stretching and strength exercises. Then hit Moore park for a progression run. The grass was nice and bouncy after the recent rainfall and I ran 8 continuous laps of the 1.2k loop. I used the garmin to monitor pace.
The pace of the laps were as follows:
4.25, 4.17, 4.10, 4.02, 3.58, 3.50, 3.43, 3.24. The legs felt pretty good and I finished off with 6 20 sec strides.
The hot weather (max of 27c) and humidity (55%) & smog never really materialised in the men's marathon which resulted in a group of 8 going throu' the 5km marker in sub 15 pace which is amazing for a championship marathon. I think a lot of the runners pre-conditioned themseleves for a 2.09 - 2.12 finish and were unable to respond when required.
Wanjiru deserved the win after pushing the pace from start. Monners (the expert from channel 7) felt the guys went too early but at half way they were never going to be caught. I thought Rothlin might reel in a few to claim bronze but the front runners kept the pace steady until the finish. The US runner Dan Ritzenhein ran very well to place in the top 10, he actually ran close to his pb. Baldini as usual worked his way up the field from 50th to finish 12th.

Who will win the Olympic marathon?

Can't remember the last time I went for a long run on my own. Anyhow, left the house after a nice lie-in and hit centennial just after 11am. The plan was to 9 laps of the inside track at 4.30 pace and then finish off with 2 1k's at 4 min/k pace. That's exactly how it panned out. Felt relatively comfortable until the last lap even though it was the fastest lap. Livo dropped by towards the end and promised coffee and croissants when i finished which gave me an added incentive to push the last 2k running - running sub 4m/k was pretty comfortable. It's weird, this running lark is very much a mental battle and the more I run the more I think Noakes is bang on the money with his central governor theory. Knee never gave me any trouble but was a little sore when i got home will ice for the rest of day. All up 36.2k in 2.41.
Interesting to watch the women's 5000m last night, obviously I was cheering for the beautiful Kara Goucher who ended up coming home in 9th with a pretty slow time of 15.49. I suppose the first km was ridiculously slow and the change in pace caught most people out. It fascinating to think some of the these girls went throu' 5000m last week in the 10000m final in 15.09 and the majority finished a lot slower last night in the 5000m.
Looking forward to the men's 5000m tonight and I can't see anyone stop Bekele unless the race is very slow which will give Lagat a chance. The men's marathon will also be an interesting race. There are about 10 runners who I think can win it. It's difficult to predict the winner as you don't really know how there training is going.
The Kenyans:
Martin Lel, Samuel Wanjiru
The Moroccans:
Jaouad Gharib, Abderrahim Goumri
The Americans:
Ryan Hall and possibly Brian Snell
The Ethiopians:
Deribe Merga, Tsegaye Tebede
The Eritrean: Yared Asmeron who ran very well last year in Oska and then ran a super 2.08 in Japan's Lake Biwa
Other Runners to watch: Atsushi Sato from Japan, Shami fro Qatar and from Europe Viktor Rothlin (Swiss) and Baldini (Italy).
It will be pretty hot so it won't be a super fast probably around 2.11. In saying that, it will be interesting to see if any of the countries work together. I could see the Kenyans and Ethiopians pushing hard from 5k to break up the field. Apparently Baldini is carrying an injury who is a great championship racer and also loves running in the heat. If he's injury free i expect him to get a medal. I also think Lel will also get a medal. Ryan Hall and Wanjiru will go close. Troopy should be happy with a top 10 finish but could surprise us. The Irish runner Martin Fagan who has been injured all year will be happy to run and finish the race. I have a feeling Rothlin from Swiss will take the race out. Can't wait for it now. Pity the world record holder Haile is not running but he is keen on taking me out in Berlin on the 28th Sept..35 days left..

Keeping on running...i can hear the tune in my head

Mon:Out for an easy recovery run with Ray and MC. 50 mins all up. Knee was a little sore during the run, obviously the extra long run on Sunday didn't help. I'm not a physio but it's definitely an ITB issue - so I attacked it with ice, anti-inflam's, foam roller and massage.
Tues:Out with the HuRT squad for a long progressive tempo, missed the start of the session and caught the guys in the domain about 5 mins in the session. Stuck with the front runners (Charlie, Dave Clarke, Muz and Tom) until the second loop). No idea of pace but it got progressive faster so much so Tom and I felt off the back of the lead grp..Knee was a little tender on the hill back to work.
Went for an 8k after work and the knee was troubling me. It seems to be more of an issue when I run on the hills or slower than 4.30 k/m pace.
Wed:MLR of 20k after work. Decided to run home and into Moore Park (approx 4k). Not wanting to run too slow, I ended up running 4k by 3 at 4m/k. Each 4k rep was followed by an easy 1k (4.30 pace). No issue with the knee so obviously the ice, foam roller, massage, stretching and strengthening is working.
Thurs:Up early and down to rushcutters for 800 sesion. First rep again was a little slow in 2.36. Legs were a little heavy from the night before but I could manage 7 more reps at 2.33 relatively comfortably. Gerso came down and ran 6 reps in 3.30 avg relatively comfortably. Both of us were pretty tired on the run back to the city.
Fri:Out for a marathon pace session in the domain, with the rain there was very few runners around (i did bump into Springer). 7k at marathon pace felt relatively comfortable but I did have to work a little harder on the way back out of the domain.
I seem to have the knee under control (well please say a prayer that i do). I've decided not to run the 35k Willy to Billy run because of the hill work involved. Instead I will opt for a 36k control run on the flat in centennial - a good session for Berlin.

Long Sunday run

Fri: Ran into work which is only 3.5k and then headed out at lunch for a 55 min run bumping into Mike and Tom on the way from Hickson road.

Sat: After a good few beers after work on Friday night, I didn't get out until 4pm. Hit centennial for Marathon pace effort. With the help of the garmin I hit 3.45 pace for 8k. It felt relatively comfortable but not as that easy. I was pretty tired on the cool down. All up 13k.

Sun: Took me a while to fall asleep after watching Bolt destroy the rest of the field in the 100m. I ran 4k to Queen's park to run the striders star. I arrived a 6.34am and the group had left, another guy arrived late (Ed from Israel) and we attempted to try to catch guys ahead. Instead of chasing them down we decided to cut them off as they left centennial. It was a big mistake and we didn't cut them off and ended up running a bit more than we intended. My stomach was feeling great and I was happy to stick to 4.50 pace. It was a beautiful run throu' all eastern suburb beaches - bronte, gordon's bay, clovelly and out to Maroubra. There were plenty of hills and stairs on the course. We got lost again around Botany Bay and at this stage I just wanted to get home. I realised at this stage I might miss the start of the women's marathon and end up running one myself. Finally got home after 3hrs 10 mins of running and covering approx 40k. Really enjoyed the women's marathon and it was inspiring to see a 38 year old win the race. 5 weeks left to Berlin...

Getting back into the groove...

It took me a little longer to shake the cold so I didn't really push myself in training from Mon to Wed.
Mon:
Out for a 50 min easy run with Ray, Muz, Mike C, Kilacoat and Dave Clark. We cut the run short to get back in time to watch the Aussies in the pool. Plenty of chat about the city to surf.
Tues
am: 30 min easy run
pm: 30 min easy run
Wed:
am: 30 min easy run with some cross training
pm: 40 min easy around the domain, bumped into Phil Dove who always seems to run at tempo pace so I tagged along for about 1.5k. He's heading back to the UK in Sept so I must organise a few drinks with the HuRT squad before he goes.
Thurs - Getting back into it....
am: 20 min easy into work and then got on the treadmill for 15 mins (I can't get use to running on the treadmill) So went for a bike session instead.
pm: Over to rushcutters with Gerso for an 800s session. The plan was 2.40 off 2 mins as I didn't want to push the first session back.
The first rep went 2.36 and felt too easy. The next six reps were run at 2.31 and they felt relatively comfortable. I decided to push it slightly for the last one and finished up 2.20. The rushcutters surface felt great and the few easy days probably put a little zip in the legs. Gerso ran 5 at 3.30 avg as she was pretty tired from Oztag the night before. The next 5 weeks will make or break Berlin....just need to stay focused!

Beautiful Day - C2S 47.48

A difficult week, work was very hectic and it didn't help coming down with the flu on Wednesday evening. On Wednesady morning, I had a decent 800s session but pulled up sore that evening - knot in my calf. Tapering for me is cutting back but the flu and calf injury put me on the sidelines for Thurs, Fri and Sat. I was very cranky as I really wanted to run the C2S. Gerso came over on Sat, and both of us were just miserable coughing and sneezing throu' the Olympic coverage on sat evening. I got up early after sleeping with the help of codral. I went out on the road and after a few strides decided to give the C2S a crack (well Livo thought I was fine running up and down the rd). Ran down with Gerso and tried to avoid as many people at the start but ran into Tim, Mike C, Rich P, Tim C, Truscott, G Howard, Fats, K Bateman etc.. well everyone. The plan was to give it a crack until 3k and continue to 5k if I felt good. I could always walk up O'Sullivan road if I wanted to pull out.
Started a lot slower than normal, and I didn't catch Tim L until 2k. Fats was just ahead and K Bateman (Fossil) was about 100m ahead. Dipped into double bay with Fats just ahead (Durante's tips on how to run down hill definitely helped). We went throu' 3k in just over 10 mins, ran comfortably with Fats who edged about 50m ahead of me. I hit 5k in 16.42 approx. I passed Matt Palmer and he drafted in right behind me. As we approach heartbreak hill, Matt pushed around me and powered up the hill. I ran it pretty steady and pulled in about 4-5 runners (including Fossil who was struggling up the hill) and sat behind fats about 3/4 way up the hill. Just kept it steady until the village and pushed by Fats. At that stage, I was feeling pretty good and ran strong around the lighthouse area down to military road. I climbed the double hills just before 10k and was half expecting Fats to come by me, but it didn't happen. I hit 10k in around 34.38 and passed Matt palmer at about 10.5k, I had a quick glance around and I saw Michael Kilacoat running strongly behind me. I used an Uncle Dave trick of focussing in on the next marker and strong to each one. 11k, 12k and 13k passed pretty quickly. I head Enda cheer me on a 13km, I just ran steady for the last km, I got a big cheer from my beautiful wife Livo at the roundabout and kicked home for a surprising 47.48 finish. A huge pb for me as 49.02 was my previous best and I really thought the calf strain and the cold would prevent me from running a decent time.
Some great runs out there, most notably my good friend Tom Highnam who ran a super 46.30 today. Tucks who is so strong it's not funny, Mike H and Charlie Low also ran very well. Must admit I was very happy to hold off Kilacoat, Fossil and Fats who were just behind me. Methinks the C2S is the toughest run out there, I was just happy to be run it today. I ended up having a great brunch in Sonja's and good few beers with Tim L, Enda and my good friend Rich P (who has another little angel on the way ;)Nearly forgot to mention Gerso (my sis in law) who came home in 68 mins which is a super run with the flu and all. The really thanks should got to Livo who convinced both of us to run today.....both of us were oh so cranky this morning..it ended up a beautiful day!

Recovery Monday

With a day off as a result of the NSW Bank Holiday, I got the opportunity to sleep in. Left Surry Hills with Gerso around 11am and ran down to rushcutters and met up with Durante and ran the C2S course. Another beautiful day for running. Got a chance to cool the legs in the water at the end of the run and Bondi was glorious with majority of the community at work.

Running Strong...

Fri: Easy 7k in the domain, bumped into Ray Wareham and Anthony Murrell. We chatted about the Striders race in Lane Cove. I told the boys I felt Durante would cruise to early 33s and maybe even dip under 33. The boys were surprised and I was disappointed that Tom decided to run the relays - so no showdown.

Sat: I had promised Mike Conway and Tim Lindop that I would pace them to a sub 35. Mike called me on Fri and told me that he was sick and would be unable to run. Tim had a slight calf issue but was keen to give it a go.
Durante called over early and told me he felt ready for a good run. In the 6 wks leading up to the race, he had pushed the hills in his long runs, he'd ran several longer tempo sessions and he also ran the 5k to 10k section of the C2S pretty hard on a number of occasions. This gave him the confidence to tackle the hilly Lane cove course.
Started out with Tim, as I pacer I went throu' the 1st km at little too quick (3.22), I slowed up and went throu' 2k in 6.52, we ran steady up Scribbly and as we came down I told Tim to push from 3k to 5k. I kept a few yards ahead of Tim and we were ran comfortable to 4k on schedule, at 4.5k I turned around on the hill and Tim was at least 50m back, he waved me on and pulled out with calf issues. I slowed up and ran with Ray and Pete Walker for the rest of the race. At the 5.3 turnaround, I took it relatively easy to the finish apart form a 3.16 last km.
I was delighted to hear Durante had run a stellar 33.01 to finish 4th overall. We ran back to get Gerso who ran a very quick km to come home in 46.23 a pb by over a minute. Gerso recent training is definitely paying off. Luc my friend from Holland ran a super 42.4x, he commented at the end of the race how well the event was organised. It was a beautiful day for running..

In the arvo, I went to the gym and ran for 35 mins on the treadmill and finished off with some light weights and stretching.

Sun: Out for a long run this morning with Terence. I ran for 35 min before meeting up with Terence in centennial, I'd been averaging 4.45 k/m and we continued that pace for another lap of centennial. We left the park and decided to run the C2S course so we left via wollahra gates down Ocean road and into Double Bay. Terence was keen to push the hills. The pace dropped to 4.35 average as we hit military road. We ran into Bondi and ran steady up Bondi rd. The avg pace dropped to 4.29 and I was happy to get back to surry hills. All up 2 hrs 32 with a avg pace of 4.29 and just short of 34k. Pretty tried at the end, I'm glad I've finished this endurance cycle of my marathon pgm. Hopefully with a bit of rest this week I will have a good crack at the C2S next Sunday.

400s

8 by 400s in the domain. I ran 4 avg'ing 72 sec for one direction and 74 for the other direction. I also ran 6 reps with Gerso avg'ing 94 secs which I suspect is a little too quick. With Lane Cove on Sat, I will take it relativley easy tomorrow.

Pacing instead of Racing

am: 8k easy

pm: 14k easy

Pretty tried at the moment, glad I'm pacing and not racing on Saturday. Still and all sub 35 pacing in Lane Cove will be no walk in the park.

Double Tuesday

Mon: Cross training session - 20 min power session on the bike, 20 mins ecliptr and some light weights.

Tues: With work commitments I knew I could not get out with the HuRT squad. So I picked a Fartlek session out of Sandrock's 'Running Tough'. The US Olympian Don Kardong used this session as a prep for the marathon.
15 min warm up
2 mins @ half marathon pace (HMP)
Float of 1.30 min @ marathon pace (MP)
1.30 @ HMP
1 min @ MP
30 sec @ HMP
30 sec @ MP
Repeat 5 or 6 sets.
After the warm-up, I completed 5 sets. The HMP varied from 3.30 to 3.35. The MP was varied from 3.50 to 4 min. The wind was a factor today. I would have liked to hit the HMP at 3.30 and the MP at 3.50. Enjoyed the session. Quads still feel a little tired from last weeks effort.

PM: Out with Gerso for 2 by 3k off 2 min with a 1k fast rep. Gerso went out pretty quick for the first rep and avg'd 4.26k/m for the 3k loop. The 2nd rep was a little slower with a 4.35 km/m. The last 1k rep from the stone gates in the domain down the hill was covered in 3.52. Another strong session by Gerso.

Tourist Trot

Out for a long run with the Sydney Striders after watching the Aussies smash the All Blacks in Homebush last night. The scheduled run was the the 28.5k Tourist Trot. Durante and I ran from my house in Surry Hills and we took off from Centennial Park with Tom, Fats, Steve Jackson, Cam Arnold, Chris, Peter & Gretta Truscott and Keith Bateman. The pace early on was 4.28 pace and didn't really vary as we left the park towards the harbour bridge via Edgecliff & Kings cross. I had some pain at the side of my stomach and was hoping the pit stop at the Siebel on Hickson Rd would alleviate it but I couldn't shake it. We crossed the bridge and ran up a few hills on the North Shore, I struggled up the hills which surprised me but I just tried to keep contact with the group. As we looped back around back onto the harbour bridge, the pace dropped with Tom leading from the front. As we cut through circular quay, I told Durante that the stomach pain was still there but I was determined to run through it as I am not going to stop in the middle of the Berlin marathon. The pace dropped again as we covered 1k loop from the Opera hse gates to farm cove in 3.40, this split the group with myself, Tom, Keith and Durante staying together as we entered Woolloomooloo. As we approach the hill on Wylde st (Potts pt), Truscott made a comment about pushing the hill, he dropped everyone as he powered up the hill, on the flat at the top Keith came by me and caught Tom and the three guys ran off into the distance. I looked at my garmin and the avg pace had dropped to 4.15 which was pretty quick for a long run especially when you factor in the hills. As I ran towards Moore park, Durante caught up with me and we ran back to the finsh. I grabbed some jellys and ran an additional 4k in centennial park as I needed to cover 34k. Pretty tired at the finish and disappointed that I was dropped but in saying that, I am coming off the back of two big weeks and today's long run is definitely good prep for Berlin. All up 34.8k. Looks like I have stiff competition in Berlin with Haile toeing the line me with me...

5k steady

I was planning on heading out to run the 5km coolrunning challenge. I woke early with a sore throat and decided to go back to bed. Headed up to centennial in the arvo and ran easy for 6k. 4k was with Bron who bumped into in the park. Then ran 5k steady at 3.28 pace. Finished up with a 2k cool down. All up 13k.
Best of luck to Tucks in the Cities marathon tomorrow. He is running well at the moment and I expect him to go very well.

Running High...

Thurs:
AM: Deek's tempo session with hill reps so I kicked off with a 15 min warm-up, 3.6k tempo around the outside track in centennial. Legs were tired but kept the pace honest at 3.36 k/m for the tempo run. 5 min easy jog and then 5 hill reps from the kiosk up to top of oxford st gates. The first 4 reps were 1 min 40 sec on the button. Last rep was completed in 1.34 with the help of Enda cycling with me to the top. I then ran 4 very short rep (50 sec avg). Tim Lindop ran the short reps with me and he was a lot stronger than me which bodes well for Tim in the C2S and next week's 10k in Lane Cove.
All up 16k
PM: Out with Gerso for a gate to gate session. The session was 6 reps off 2 mins. Gerso ran the first two reps pretty quickly avg'ing 4.06 pace. The remaining reps were ran steady avg'ing 4.11 pace. Another good session which will give Gerso plenty of confidence for the C2S.
All up 10k

Fri:
PM: Suppose to be a cross training day but after hectic day at work, I wanted to get out for a run and clear the head. I left the office around 6.15 for beautiful run in the domain in the rain. I seemed to have the domain to myself for 45 min run in the rain...legs were still tried but the run definitely cleared the head..

MLR 18.5k

AM: Out to centennial with Durante for my medium long run. It was pitch dark again, you can't see a thing for the first 40 mins. I did notice some of Sean's crew out there this morning. With the cool weather everyone had a extra layer on. I didn't want to but I couldn't help pushing the hills again ;) Of course Durante was up for it..

PM: Spin class and plenty of stretching, I like mixing the running up with a bit of spinning..i hope it makes me stronger...your full of laughs today Kanser.....yeah I know..

am: Ran into the city this morning for a session with Gerso. It was pretty cold but we got straight into it. The plan for for 2 by 3km off 2 mins with 1k at the end of the session. Gerso was very strong again today and ran 4.29 pace for rep 1 and 4.28 for rep 2 and off 2 mins ran the 1k in 3.57. All up 13k

pm: Out with the HuRT squad for a lactate threshold session of 4 by 3k. The plan was to run comfortably hard. Dave Clark, Michael K, Tom and Durante went straight to the front. I settled in behind them with Ray popping up now and again, he seemed to just appear out of the trees. The run from Opera house gates to the stone gates entrance in the domain was a lot tougher with the wind and hills.
Rep 1: 3.29 avg pace - about 120m short of the gates
Rep 2: 3.20 avg pace
Rep 3: 3.28 avg pace - a little closer to the gates
Rep 4: 3.18 pace
On the last rep, Dave Clark came by me and I ran with him stride by stride for around 300m but when we got Mrs Macq chair, he put in a surge and left me for dead. Basically he ran over the top me, something Deek used always do in the last 10k of the marathon. I was reading the article on Mona last night in RFYL and he was saying Deek was 'fierce' competitor that loved running over the top of people. Anyhow I was also impressed with Tom today who backed up very well after his long run yesterday. Still and all, I felt very strong today and looking forward to this session next month, will attempt to stay with Clark next time...

Recovery Monday

am: easy 35 mins run in and around Moore Park

pm: Spin class and some core conditioning work