bloody calf

Out with the HuRT squad at lunch and pulled up with a sore calf. Will get it checked out tomorrow. I wouldn't mind I was flying today. Ran the 1st rep in 3.39 and the 2nd in 3.25 and both felt easy. On the 3rd rep the calf just locked up and I had to walk back to the office.....

MLR - 75 mins

Out with the boys (Tom, Durante, Mike, Steve, 6foot Charlie, Ben, Matt, Clarky) for a MLR. Ran out via Potts Point, Rushcutters and into Centenntial via Ocean street. We ran 2 loops around centennial. The rest of the boys went back via Ocean street and I cut back via Surry Hills with Matt. I thought we'd get back a lot quicker but didn't. I was nice and hot and I was pretty tired at the end of it...pace wasn't fast (around 4.25 pace)...so maybe i'm just tired..

Base Build

Mon:
10-11k run with the boys..nice easy pace around 4.25

Tues:
HuRT squad - 45 min farklek (1 min fast, 1 min easy), hip was a little tight so decided not to push the pace from the start. Tom and Tucks went straight to the front and I settled into a group with Durante, Timmy, Terence and another guy. It took me a while to getting going, the boys dropped off after circular quay. Turned after the bridge 6.1k and then chased the boys down. Timmy and Durante took the short cut back but caught Andy and Terence in the domain and a few other around farm cove. I was actually expecting to get back to the start but was approx 100m short. Pretty hot out there today...

Weekend work

Sat:
2k warm up, 8k at 3.37 pace and 2k warm down. Felt comfortable after 1k but found I needed to focus for the last km. Probably need a long warm up and warm down for this session.
Sun:
Ran from Surry Hills down to N Bondi to meet Mike and Terence. Covered the 6k at 4.12 pace. I needed to push it as I was running late. Glad that Terence had run 3hr 45 min the previous day so the pace was nice and easy for the rest of the run. Met up with Durante in centennial and ran for 2hr 2 mins all up. Avg pace 4.34 which was pretty comfortable given the earlier pace.
Spent the afternoon catching up with friends in Strickland hse, all I can say is that runners are no good at volleyball. Steve really should stick to running. You can't fault Tom's effort and there's no point commenting on Durante's performance..
Well done to Clarky winning the long course tri event down in Jervis Bay. It's only a matter of time before he turns pro. Congrats to Charlie coming 10th and well done to the Irish crew of Barry Keane, Paul O'Doherty and Enda...great showing for the boys..

Mid week ramblings..

I ran home from work on Tues evening and ran into work on Wed morning. I missed my MLR on Wednesday due to work commitments. On Thursday I ran into work and decided not to meet up with the HuRT squad for an interval session. I opted for a long hilly run in relatively hot conditions (28c). I ran out to Balls Heads and back. I worked the hills and added some short hill reps into the 75 min run. I ran into work today and met up with Mike, Ray, Serg, Springer and sixfoot Charlie for 15k easy run at lunch (avg pace was 4.33). It was another hot day...!!! I won't complain as I was giving out about the rain recently..

14 by 3 mins (off 1 min)

I didn't get a chance to run during the weekend. Got out with some of the boys on Monday for an easy 15k. Large crowd in attendance with the HuRT squad for a relatively long session of 14 by 3 mins off 1 min.
Ran with Tom, Charlie, Clarky and Tucks for the majority of the reps. The pace was pretty consistent for the first 10 reps (3.18 - 3.20). Even with only 1 min recovery I felt pretty comfortable. The last 4 reps were a little quicker 3.14, 3.13, 3.13, 3.09. I had to work hard on the last rep as Charlie, Tom and Clarky opened up a gap of around 10-15m. I put in a little kick to catch the boys and felt pretty tired after the last rep. Tucks was with us up until the last two reps so I expect him to go well in North Head. Interesting to see how Charlie and Clarky match up for the long course tri at the weekend. The last time I ran session Dec 16th 2008, the pace was similar but I failed to keep up with the boys at the front for the last 4 reps. So happy with the session overall..I was watching Tom's form for the last few reps and he struggled big time. Probably something to do with the questionable bout of the flu he had at the weekend...

I’m faster than you…

Out for an early dinner with Livo in Phamish last night, ended up bumping into Kate Coburn and her husband Anthony. They were having dinner with Dimitri and his partner. The conversation was a little amusing, Anthony was passing on his congrats for my Dubai effort. Dimitri commented that he’d run a faster time in the marathon. I responded pretty quickly ‘mate, I’m quicker than you over 10k’. We should have some interesting battles this year….
Went to see Clint Eastwood’s new movie ‘Grand Torino’. Another class movie from the aging director. I’m a big fan since his Oscar winning movie ‘Unforgiven’ and surprised he’s not nominated for this movie. Instead Ben Button a crappy fantasy story is in with a chance for best movie!
Up early with Steve Thurston this morning for an 8k marathon pace run. Ended up averaging 3.36 pace a little quicker than anticipated. All up 12k.
At lunch got out for a 35 min easy run with Chalks..

Gate to Gate (900m approx) with the HuRT squad

Smaller crowd than usual (Mike, Tom, Terence, Tucks, Dreverman, Clarky, Andy lots of folks I can’t put a name to the face)
Could only find the time to 6 reps off 2 mins as I needed to get back to work. Felt pretty good for the start and ran comfortably throughout. I didn’t have a garmin but Tucks was with me for most of the reps and we cruised through the initial rep at 3.15 pace. The next 4 reps were run between 3.05 – 3.10 pace. I ran the last rep comfortably hard at 2.58 pace. I’ve no issues with speed so need to focus on the longer tempo…best to luck at Tom on the weekend. Wish I could join him as he’s running 10k on the track..so what time will he run. Looks like conditions will be perfect so I am thinking around 32.22

I'm your man

Tues:
Hill session (10 by 60 secs). Pushed each rep and also pushed down the hill to limit the recovery. The last 2 reps were tough. Ran home after work. Will get into the habit of running home as it aids the recovery. Stayed up late and watched the Leonard Cohen doco 'I'm your man' on SBS...riveting to say the least. Nick Cave as ever was in sparkling form. Can't say the same for Bono. The bullshit that comes out of him is unnerving.
Wed:
Up early for a MLR with Thurston, I think I've said it before 'he doesn't run easy anymore'. I could match Steve on the hills but on the outer loop of centennial I struggled to keep with him. The average pace for the session was 4.18 pace. Maybe i'm just tired. All up 90mins.

Double or nothing

Out this morning at 5.30am, a few of us skipped the long run on Sunday as it was too hot to run. Difficult enough to get up at 5am but met up with Tim and Durante. We were cruising along at 4.30 pace until Thurston arrived. The pace dropped to between 4.15 and 4.20 for the remaining hour. I was pretty tired at the end. All up 1.53 at 4.24 avg pace.
Got out with Tom, Ray and Springer for the usual Monday route, pace was nice and easy 4.30 approx. I cut the run short. All up around 10k.

Striders 10K Lane Cove 34.42 (4th)

Pleased with my first race back after Dubai. Given the hot conditions and the hilly nature of the course it was a good result but not a great one. To be honest, I wasn't really up for the race and nearly didn't go.
Rocked up with Tim and there were lots of the HuRT squad (Durante, Tom, Richard High, Matt Kaley, Tim, Pete Walker & Eoin) Tom had a tough task of pacing the 35 min group. I felt good for the first 3km and was sitting in front of the 35 min group (which had Richard High, Terence, Matt and many others who just held on for the first 10 to 15 mins). After about 3.5k I was running along side Durante, Tim Ashby, Tim Cochrane). At some stage between 3k and 5k I passed Darren Moyle who went out far too quick. The 3 boys got away from me and I was running a few yards behind them. Got to 5k in 17.32 and drifted further back as we climbed the hill to the turnaround. Coming down the hill I didn't feel much better but kept the boys in sight and started to feel good from 6.5k onwards. Picked up Ashby around 8.5k and got hit 9k in 31.32 a few yards behind Cochrane. Finished strongly and happy to see Durante get 3rd place. Tom paced the group well coming home in 34.52, it's a pity the boys fell off the back from 6k onwards. The heat and the nature of the course was definitely a factor. I fully expect Terence to crack 35 mins next mth.

Easy run Friday

Out with Chalks for an easy run around the domain. Plenty of talk about Chalks new baby 'Alannah'. Good eduacational session for me....

Hold Steady - Massive Nights

Went to another gig last night, this time to the Metro to see 'The Hold Steady'. They released a very good album 'Stay Positive' last year. It didn't make my top 5 but would definitely make the top 10. Anyhow, it was a pretty good gig. They are a Brooklyn band that are quite lyrical and have plenty to say about the state of middle America.
Some lyrics from the song massive nights..
the guys were feeling good about their liqour run. the girls were kinda flirting with the setting sun. we all kinda fumbled thru the jitterbug. we were all powered up on some new upper drug.

we had some massive nights. every song was right. all that wine was tight. your friends were pretty cool. and my friends were acting cool. there weren't any fights. there's usually one or two. some guys they get a little bit uptight. some girls they got something to prove.

we had some massive nights.
Anyhow, ended up having a massive night with Big Bear...he's a shocking influence. On the running front, could not get out with the HuRT squad due to some meetings. Got out a little later and completed a 400 session on my own. The first 6 reps averaged 72 and I ran the last two a tad quicker. Love this session in the current hot conditions in Sydney. Felt great after the session...I needed it after a massive night.

Balls head

I failed to get out of bed this morning and left poor Steve Thurston run around centennial park on his own. Good mental training for him!
I ventured out to Balls Head at lunch. Pretty hot out there again! I forgot how hilly it is to Balls head..maybe NOT as I think I need to work on the hills for the next month or so....

6 by 5 mins (90 sec recovery)

Large crowd out with the HuRT squad today (Tom, Richard H, Ray, Tucks, Dreverman, Charlie, Durante, Springer, Enda, Adam and many more). It was another hot day and the pace of the first rep felt a little slow. I didn't get a signal on the garmin until the 2nd rep. The pace was pretty consistent from there in. I hovered around 3.20 to 3.25 pace with the last rep a tad quicker. I pulled the pin after 6 as my hammie was a little tight.
Even though my body is telling me I've recovered well from Dubai I am trying to make a conscious effort to ease back into training. My first real race will be the 10k road champs on May 2nd, so I don't need to increase volume/intensity for another month or so.

I've seen the future, brother: it is murder...

On Thursday night, I was fortunate enough to go to Leonard Cohen with Uncle Dave. It's definitely up there as one of the best gigs I've been too. Difficult to comprehend how he could make the entertainment centre feel like a small intimate gig but he pulled it off. Very spiritual experience, he had the audience hanging out for every word...
On Friday got out with boys (Tom, Serg, Thurston, Durante) for a 14.8k run around Sydney in pretty hot conditions. It was Gerso's b'day on Sat so we all went up to the Hawksbury for the day so I didn't get a chance to go for a run. On Sunday we didn't get back until after 2pm. It was another scorcher and hit the hills of bondi for 1 hr 53 mins. I incorporated the 5km tempo session in the middle of the run. Pretty tired and the end of it. Very busy weekend indeed, went to see 'Rachael getting married' at the open air cinema in the domain on Sunday evening. Timmy go and see it...it's pure class. It's pretty bleak and has no fairytale ending, but that's the way it should be. I hope Hathaway gets an oscar for her performance.
Out with the boys again today (Thurston, Tom, Durante, Springer for a short period) for another 14.8k in the middle of the day, at the turnaround we (well Tom) increased the pace and Durante to the poor fella couldn't handle it.....Tom's very nervous about his debut marathon in the Gold Coast. I'm trying my best to calm him down.....it's such a long way off. He should focus on getting through the 6foot in one piece and then focus on it...but he just won't stop talking about. Methinks that's why he pushed the pace today!

7 by 800s (off 90 secs)

It wasn't that I couldn't handle 8 reps, we just weren't allowed as a cricket match was kicking off at 1.15pm and we were required to vacate rushcutters oval. In saying that it was bloody hot out there today and I was happy to finish with 7 reps.
Reps went as follows
2.29, 2.28, 2.27, 2.26, 2.25, 2.27, 2.21
Large crowd in attendance again, Durante lead most of the reps and he was 1-2 secs ahead of me for all the reps apart from the last one. Tucks, Ray, Terence and Clarky (who probably cycle 100k this morning) were approx 5-10 secs behind for each rep. I think the heat got to a number of people as it was noticeable the majority got slower as the session progressed. Durante was shattered after the 6th rep and I half expected him to follow me for the last rep but he decide he had enough ;). Timmy was a surprise today, he ran pretty consistent for the first 5 and then took a break for the 6th rep and then pushed the last rep. I actually had to put in a little kick to finish in front on him....sub 35 mins is on the cards as early as March for the kid...

And all that jazz......

Went to the Opera House last night and saw the lead characters from ‘Once’ Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová strut their stuff on stage. Glen who is no stranger to sell out gigs was delighted to have the opportunity to play at the Opera House. Well that’s what he told the audience, he’s a bit of a talker alright but he’s one heck of a musician and demonstrated his talent by belting out a beautiful rendition of ‘On Raglan Road’. If you haven’t seen the movie Once, get yourself to a DVD shop and get a copy.
Once I started you can’t stop me…I never got the opportunity to tell my favorite albums of 2008….in no particular order
- Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
- Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
- Goldfrapp – Seventh Sign
- Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
- Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

The legend ‘Leonard Cohen’ is hitting Sydney this week. His concerts are getting rave reviews…can’t wait for Thursday night…..

On the running front, I was out with Thurston and Durante this morning for a 90 min jaunt around centennial. We were joined by a young kid (16 going on 17) for the last 30-40 mins. He’s run 8.17 for 3k…..makes you think…

HuRT squad (45 min progressive tempo)

After a few easy days over the weekend, got out with the HuRT squad at lunch (quite a large group that included Enda, Durante, Rich High, Tucks, Springer, Mike, Terence aka Drago and many more...Serg even made a brief appearance)
I just planned to run with Conway and see how I felt on the run. Mike's planned pace was as follows

10 mins easy (4.15 km/m)
10 mins at marathon pace (4.05 km/m)
10mins at 1/2 marathon pace (3.50 km/m)
10 mins at 10 km pace (3.35 km/m)
5 mins at 5 km pace (3.30 km/m)

So how did session go...., Clarky went off from the start obviously thinking the 4.15pace was too slow. I was keen to chat to the boys so pretty happy with the pace. I didn't have a garmin so I was relying on the guys to keep the pace for each rep. Tucks seems to be have it under control. It wasn't until the move down to the 1/2 marathon pace when the group started to split up. When we got down to the 10km pace, I was with Tucks, High, Durante, Clyde and one or two others and Ray was a 100m head of us of all. At the hill approaching Farm Cove, Durante broke away and created a gap which I attempted to close but I didn't have any strength on the hill. Still and all, I create a gap between myself and the rest of the guys apart from Clyde who sat on my shoulder until we entered the domain. Finished off pretty strong and I suspect the paces was pretty quick for the last 20 mins.
Pretty happy to get to the stone gates, glad to have a tough session under my belt after the marathon...Tucks is looking strong and I was a little surprised with Durante today...

Speedplay

On Wednesday, out for a 45 min run, pushed the last 10 mins. This morning got out for 5 by 1.2k around Balheary, didn't bring the garmin but the reps were approx half marathon pace. Well done to Tom on his 15.39 and Thurston on his 14.20 run at the state 5k in Sydney.

Cruising

62 min easy, still can't believe how cold it is. During the run I was thinking about the 5k state championship. I think Thurston will run well and run very close to sub 14...if i had to put money on it - 14.04. Tom needs to be careful, he should let Truscott go and run for a time of 15.28. This can only be achieved if he runs and fast opening km 3.01 and a fast closing km of around 3.05. It's the splits between 1k and 4k than Tom needs to focus on...and there is no better man...best of luck guys..!

Running in the cold

Another freezing cold day, out with the younger bro for a 50 min run. We took it relatively easy for the first 40 mins. Derek started to increase the pace and I just sat right behind him. He started to create a gap of about 20m with about a km to the house.
Lucky for me he had to stop before crossing the main road which gave me the opportunity close the gap and edge into the lead which I held until we got back to the house.....he wasn't happy at all.

The change in the weather tends to be extreme...

Can't believe how cold it is in Ireland at the moment. Out for a 60 min run this morning and had to kept the pace honest as it was freezing. I was only planning a 30 min run but didn't want to turnaround and run into the wind so kept going until i hit Malahide and looped back around to Swords. Don't fancy running with the Bro in the morning as he turns every training run into a race.

Dubai Marathon 2.41:54

After having the mother of all rows last night with my central governor (sub conscious that is), I finally put my head down on the pillow happy to have finally defeated the the little fu****! Now read on...
Couldn't sleep on the long haul flight from Sydney but Timmy will like this..got to see plenty of new movies. WALL-E is class, Ed Harris's Appaloosa is a super western and Ricky Gervias is very funny in Ghost-town.
After the debacle in Berlin, I opted not to carry any gels and just rely on the sports drink available. Got to the start early and had the pleasure of warming up with the elite boys. Haile was looking very serious and i even got chatting to the eventual 2nd place guy who in broken english told me to 'run strong'. He was quite big for an elite guys...the rest of them were tiny.
The elite guys took off 4 mins before the rest of us (strange I doubt Haile needed a 4 min start on me). Settled into it straight away and the plan from the off was to run very comfortable until 10k and increase the tempo if I was feeling good. About 20 runners settled in front of me, got to 5k on the slow side 19.16 (which projected me out to 2.42.20) but I wasn't concerned as there was a slight headwind. I was thinking this will be great on the return leg. From 5k to 15k I picked up quite a few runners who had gone out a little fast. At around 16k (which was around 1.02 if i recall correctly) I chatted to a Turkish runner and told him I was Irish living in Australia. He never commented on Australia but mentioned Roy Keane was a great player in his day. I told him Sukar was decent but not a great striker. He didn't talk to me after that! Got to half way in a tick over 80 mins and I was pretty excited at the prospect of getting a tailwind. I recall reading Criniti's article about neg splits from the Striders blister mag and felt confident of having a crack. It went well until 26k where i got a bloody stitch (not sure why but there was no orange sports drink at the 25k only lime...)Anyhow, this slowed me down and for the first time in the race a runner flew by me...i wouldn't mind it was the Turkish guy who i dropped at 23k!)It took me 4k to get rid of the stitch (plenty of heavy breathing in combo with pushing my foot down on the right side). The Turkish guy was about 120m ahead of me and from 30k I decided to chase him. For the first time in a marathon I was looking forward to the challenge of the last 12k.
The weather decided to put a spanner in the works..just as I hit 32k hoping for a Tucks sort of finish the rain started to fall and the bloody wind changed direction. Frank Shorter blamed the rain on his 2nd place finish in '76, I actually like the rain but am not very fond of a headwind. Just put the head down and battled, got plenty of comments from crowd 'your looking strong and all that jazz...the little f*** of a central governor kept questioning that...but i wouldn't give in. I used every Jedi mind trick in the book and Gallaway the US coach often got his runners to used their imagination in weird and wonderful ways to get throu the last 10k(my head was all over the shop - my friend Eamon was the Taoiseach (prime minister)of Ireland I was asked to become the minster of education...weird or what!
Just kept going until the finish, had another stitch at 39k (not sure why) but it was a little higher on the left side so I stopped at 40k to make sure I was ok. The last 400m felt pretty long as I tried to run 70 sec...i did manage 82 which isn't bad.
Plan to rest now as I have a huge week of drinking ahead of me. Will hit the after party and endeavour to get Geb drunk as I am interested in the sort training he does. I checked the results and I was the 24th male home which isn't bad considering there were 21 elite boys ahead of me. It's been a great month for me with 3 pbs and would love to race against the boys in the Gold Coast in July - Tom, Richard High, Muz and Terence ...obviously I would like the opportunity to have another crack at the little f*** of a central governor.
Thanks to everyone for all the email and texts....looking forward to catching up with friends and family in Ireland. I'm glad I've got a fair few pbs out of the way in Jan as from March I reckon Livo and I will be busy :) Can't wait for the big day!

See you on the road - Kanser

Some articles on Geb's world record attempt in Dubai
Associated Press You can see how big Chimsa is compared to Haile and I had a feeling in the warm-up Sertsu would run well.

Sporting Life...interesting to see Dave Bedford the London race director comment on the change of the wind in the 2nd half...

IAAF Great photo on Haile coming to the line...

Time for Dubai

I am not sure when I decided to run Dubai but after a poor run in the JP Morgan I didn't really have the stomach for another marathon. I think it was towards the end of Nov. or just after my health check I decided to train as hard as I could and then possibly have a crack at Dubai.
The last 6 weeks have gone to plan, the hard work has paid off. I can't complain with my form. It's not often you run 2 pbs in a week.
It will be interesting to see how I go in Dubai. With Berlin I focused too much on the end result, this time I am really looking forward to the experience. Can't believe i'm getting another chance to line up against the big man 'Haile' as he goes chasing another world record. Tune in on Friday evening and I'll have that 'time' you are looking for!

5k - 15.54 PB

Out to Homebush for a 5k track race. The goal was sub 16. The temps were cool (22c) and it was a little windy. I ran my own race, went through the 1st km in 3.06 and ran steady from there. I think I went throu' 3k in around 9.28 (Timmy was there and mentioned afterwards that the 400 splits were pretty even). My last km was nice and quick in 3.04. I hit the bell in 14.48 so the last 400m was 66 sec which i'm pretty happy with..I reckon I can go a little quicker with more company as i was more or less on my own for the whole way.

45 mins easy

Out early for an easy 45 mins run in and around centennial park with Timmy...throat was a little sore and I was thinking this is a sign - I'm peaking. Then Timmy tells his throat is 'killing him' and he's only starting to build a base...maybe i'm not peaking...

400s

Ran in this morning and got out with the HuRT squad (far too many to mention them all) for a 400s session. Serg made a surprise appearance and with his lower leg issues decided to take it easy and jog around the oval. I ran 10 reps and took it very easy (maybe averaging 78-80 and ran 2 quick one 66, 64. Durante was on fire and probably averaged 66-67...! Some of the guys opted for a different session (need to talk to Tom about this as it's too difficult to manage 2 grps). Terence and Richard High were looking strong and Timmy is on the long road to a sub 35...Tom was missing in action today...

MLR

Out with Thursten for a MLR in and around Centennial. Ran for 1 hr 16 mins with an average pace of 4.18 km/m. Spotted Terence, Adam and Enda running in the park.
Ran into Keith Bateman coming out of centennial and we chatted about up and coming races. He's targeting the State 5k and looks like he's peaking nicely. He ran his quickest 8k tempo session recently and also ran a very quick 3 by 2k (avg'ing 6.10). He should have no bother breaking 16 mins for 5k and I reckon he will break the National 5k record of 15.49 for his age group. Tom will be keen to stay ahead of him on the 22nd Jan. Pity I am away as it's going to be a great race.....

Hot hot hot...

Mon:
am: Ran into work and did some ab work in the gym
pm: Ran with the boys - Ray, Tom, Steve, Durante, Clarky, Andy, Charlie, Mike down to Hickson road and cut back via circular key with Steve. It was pretty hot around 28c

Tues:
am: Ran into work and did some stretching in the gym
pm: 800 session with Tom, Durante, Clarky and Andy. There were 3 grps. I ran with grp 1 and given I was planning on completing 6 (with the 5k track run on Sat) aimed to run them in 2.20. Reps went as follows:
2.19, 2.18, 2.18, 2.20, 2.19, 2.20.
The boys were running 8 so they were a little behind me for most of the reps. Tom was definitely closer and I think ran over the top of me on rep 5. I ran the first 4 relatively comfortable and had to work to maintain the pace for reps 5 and 6. Good session in very hot conditions.

I've added some photos from the Twilight run.

Coming to the turnaround

Powering on...

Timmy in full flight ;)

Long run and tales from Tassie

Met up with Durante today for a long run, both of us were pretty tired. Calves were a little tight this morning as a result of wearing the Adizero breeze for the 10k on Friday. We settled into a 4.40 pace and continued on for 90 mins or so. When Durante left I ran 2k through the center of the park at marathon pace. All up just shy of two hours. Plan to rest now....
Congrats to Uncle Dave's 1st place in 2.29 in Hobart and Terence Bell 4th in 2.44. Great running guys!