300 metre Jihad

6.30am, 10 * 300m, Centennial Park

Today was a spiritual struggle to maintain the work rate against the lazy infidels and the overwhelming tendency to taper.

I picked up the pace of the warm up run jogging to Centennial Park and then I discovered a brand new niggle in the side of the right achilles. The right ankle wasn't liking hills or twists and turns: should be no problem for a straight flat course like six foot track. The niggle was probably a hangover from yesterday's slight twist of the ankle, and obligingly disappeared after another 5 minutes.

A good crowd at Sean's this morning. The early reps were a bit slack.

Times were 1.06, 1.03, 1.03, 1.01, 59, 57, 57, 56, 55, 53, and 51.
That's 11 rep times for those that counted. I can't exactly remember the middle 4 times, only the first 4 and last 2, so any report with 10 reps should be discounted, and don't expect me to remember your mobile phone number, birthday or number of sugars in your coffee.

Tomorrow's run on the program is 1 hour easy, woohoo. Gotta love this taper business. I'll be typing this blog from bed soon, endless taper.

Wild and windy (the weather)

6.30am, 45 minutes easy, Moore Park

Nice cool change last night, and pleasant conditions this morning for a run. I stuck to the easy part of the program, although after only a 2 hour run yesterday I picked up the pace just above that of a recovery run.

I almost twisted my ankle on a tree-root crack in the park path, and was grateful I didn't do any damage. I will also be very careful of stepping on those cracks in the footpath walking down the street for the next 2 weeks.

I got out onto the golf course, without being chased by dogs or single-mothers with prams, and had a nice carefree cushioned run. I felt a bit sluggish after 30 minutes and put it down to the long grass and yesterday's workout.

I got home safely and started looking for that bubble-wrap to give myself a bit of extra protection out on the streets.

Pacing greyhounds

7.15am, 2 hours, Centennial Park

A huge sleep in, by an extra 30 minutes, and eventually got out the door for the last long run before six foot.

On the first inner fence lap, I caught up with masseuse Easy Tiger and Royworlds who later disappeared in search of the perfect hill. By 8.00 am I joined the larger group and kept up with the pace on the outside fence. I felt much better this week not having done the extra hour beforehand and handled the pace in the larger group. Legs felt good and I snuck up to the front group while no-one was watching.

We did see Lulu on some secret training looking very composed.

On the second inner fence, I had to dig deep to hang in with the greyhounds (Sean's young squad members) while going up the slight incline to the cafe. One young lass then blew past me and dragged me along up to another guy. This was the last long hard session before six foot so I went up an extra gear, and passed both of them in the final surge to the pavilion. I definitely won't be surging like that at six foot track until I go for the communal hot showers at Jenolan Caves resort. I'll have to think of those hot showers to get my second wind on Black Range.

I then cruised home for the final 20 minutes a spent force. It was a good final long work out.

Hot pram

7.15am, CR 5 km challenge, Iron Cove bay

I thought about skipping it, since I don't need a 5km speed session to get ready for six foot track, and it is possible to strain something like a glute pretending to be fast. But I was niggle free on Friday, and after a Friday night on the iced-waters I'd just sacrificed too much not to run.

A nice early start to warm up for the 5km challenge. A good crowd there including Kit looking very fit, but no one else starting off at 18 minutes, so I went out by myself. I did not have anyone to chase but maintained a reasonable pace. I knew the 17.30 min back-markers would catch me sooner or later, and most of them did before 3km. At 3km I was 10 seconds slower than last month but travelling OK. At 4km I was being chased by Luke Skyrunner with the running pram, which is impressive. Usually I have women chasing me with a pram wanting child support. I held Luke off until the final 50m. Finished in 18.01, 2 secs off last month. Definitely picked up the pace on the pram pursuit. Pulled up fine and glad I did the workout.

True faith

7.00am, 30 minutes , Centennial Park

I had recovered quickly from yesterday's session, and even recovered well from the compounded effects of the last 3 days. Last couple of Fridays I was very tired. This morning I could have done more running but I stuck to the program of 30 minutes easy.

There's an element of faith in following a program at times. It has worked very well so far, so I'm still a true believer. I'm not going to muck around now with the six foot taper about to happen. I am quite curious on how I will run six foot track day. I still feel very ordinary during many training runs.

Anyway, I cruised around Centennial Park on a truncated inside lap and finished with a few stride throughs without getting into top gear. I might even get some real speed into the runs on the weekend. About time.

Big Bertha

6.30am, 4.5km hill circuit, Centennial Park

A good crowd at Sean's this morning. I felt a bit tired in the legs after yesterday's hills, but no real stiffness or soreness. Yesterday's new lower back symptoms were gone.

I enjoyed following Ewan and Liz around the circuit, although I fell off the pace pretty quickly. We started half way up the hill of a 10 lap circuit, which was doing my head-in with mental calculations of how many hills and half-hills to go to the finish.

My lap times were consistently even. I finished in 17.23, 2 seconds off the pb. Finished pacing Kit on her last lap, and the scenery was transformed remarkably similar to that of the Canberra marathon course as we surged to the finish.

Doing it with the lights off

5.30 am, 1 hour 45 minutes, Rushcutters Bay - Watsons Bay - North Bondi

A marginally shorter run than the previous 3 Wednesdays. I went out slightly slower than usual, partly because it was quite dark at the start. I don't particularly like running in the dark although the time and distance seem to pass more quickly.

I felt new joint pain in the lower back during an easy downhill section. This was a bit alarming until it went away after a couple of minutes. I didn't want to push my luck for the rest of the run so I maintained a steady pace without pushing hard.

Nice sun rise at Watsons Bay, and it was pretty fresh out there this morning. Overall it was also an easier run than the last couple of weeks since the endurance has picked up.

Lord of the Lentils

6.30am, 2km, 1.6km, 2 * 1.2km, Centennial Park

A very good dinner of red lentils last night. I was full of beans early but not much propulsion out of them. A good crowd at sweat session featuring the return of Royworlds, looking lean after the extended Vietnamese training camp.

Felt ok on the first couple of longer reps but got tired over the last two. Since we only do 4 reps there's not much need to hold back early anyway.

Royworlds must have been loaded up on Saigon greyhound from his last repetition.

Times were 7.28, 5.53, 4.28, 4.20.

Interesting chat to Mr Lulu afterwards with some insights into Good Lulu's valiant training and Bad Lulu's goal setting.

Dog of a Recovery

7.00am, 1 hour easy, Moore Park

This is the best I have felt this year on a Monday after a 2 hour plus session on the day before. The ankle and knee joints were all good and I had a bit of drive in the legs. I treated the legs to an extended session on the grass around Moore Park and the golf course. Heavily overcast, windy and threatening rain was a nice change from the heat and humidity.

I enjoyed this golf session knowing it was only a casual hour with the aim of just being a recovery run. There was a stiff southerly breeze and a few golf balls were sprayed around the practice driving range.

Initially there were more people walking dogs on the golf course than golfers. I got chased by one small fluffy dog 3 times on the 15th fairway. I couldn't be bothered stopping so I watched the dog run just diagonally behind me, fall back and then come toward me three times. From rich experience, I know not many dogs will actually try to bit me, particularly if they stay more than a few metres away. Also while running I know I can only kick a dog in front of me so I was just content to play pace maker. I could hear the owner yelling out "fido, fido". Fortunately I had the patience and endurance to out last the mongrel without being bitten.

There was a slight shower of rain but a very pleasant morning to be out in the elements.

Hills for a change

6.10am, 2 hours 50 minutes, Centennial Park - Tamarama - Bronte

The last in a long line of 2 hour plus runs this morning. I went out easier this morning , and after 40 minutes did some steep hills which zapped the legs for the rest of the session. My legs took a while to recover from the hills, but they did recover which was positive. The rest of the session was a struggle, although I wasn't expecting anything else.

I should feel the benefits of the recent hill work this week or next. Otherwise next month I'll be at the six foot track finish line in my rocking-chair knitting cardigans.

More Hills

7.30am, 1 hour 15 minutes, Rushcutters Bay - Vaucluse - Dover Heights - Bellevue Hill - Double Bay

A sluggish start that picked up speed as I went along. I followed a shortened version of my mid-week long run with all the best hills. I might do guided tours. I noticed the difference in having an easy day yesterday and felt a bit stronger. So I could attack the hills and maintain a decent work rate up them.

Pretty humid out there this morning. At Edgecliff I ran into a few small groups of what looked like north side runners, one wearing last year's six foot track singlet. I was wearing my 2004 6' track singlet and received some friendly waves.

I read Gronk is targeting the SMH 1/2 marathon in May. I'm starting to notice the gradual increase in strength in the legs over the last few weeks, and today I was on various parts of the city to surf course. At this stage, I'm building nicely for city to surf and sydney marathon festival. Not sure if I'll be ready to race Gold Coast or anything before then.

Bonjour from Bellevue Hill

7.00am, 40 minutes easy, Bellevue Hill

The program said short and easy and I couldn't resist a couple of small hills and found a few in the french quarter of the eastern suburbs. I was a bit stiff in the glutes and I pretty much pranced around not doing any serious exertion. I ran past the French consulate with the black citroen in the driveway, and then followed New South Head Road back past the Finnish consulate and the old Vietnamese consulate that had relocated to Edgecliff.

I was feeling a bit peckish, and that got me thinking about breakfast of hot croissants, reindeer or canine cuisine. Hard to choose. Still a bit hungry now after Saint Bernard soup.

Fartlek cocktail

6.30am, 1 hour fartlek, Centennial Park

Walking home last night I was still a bit stiff from yesterday's hills. The preparation for this run then began last night with red lentils and garlic for dinner, a glass of cab sav and plain yoghurt. This seemingly healthy but wicked cocktail guaranteed that I'd be propelled around the park to help overcome the fatigue.

A good crowd at Sean's this morning. Good news on the run was that no major niggles or stiffness emerged, the glutes are on their best behaviour, and I was indeed carried by the winds around the Park. I was chasing Liz around the park and I could not even get close this morning. Anyone else running down-wind seemed to be labouring hard though.

Royworlds is rumoured to be returning to training this week after a special diet of Vietnamese free-range cat. He should be in lean condition.

Flat tyre and a new challenge

6.00am, 1 hour 45 minutes, Rushcutters Bay - Watsons Bay - North Bondi

I felt a bit flat on the way out but maintained a reasonable tempo. I was tired after 40 minutes which is not exactly six foot track endurance, then got a second wind, not from lentils, but I suspect from the long runs. Every toilet at Double Bay, Rose Bay and Watsons Bay was locked this morning so I was being intestinally-challenged as well.

Going up some stairs at Dover Heights I wasn't even thinking about them and my mind was wandering around. I was either doing it too easy or these hills are getting easy.

I ran the same time as last week for the first hour and picked up a couple of minutes in the second hour.

Running around in circles (edit: stop sending valentine's day flowers)

6.30am, 10 * 400 metres, Centennial Park

This week is the finish of my plateau before the mileage starts to drift down next week towards the taper for six foot track.
Sean told me to have some easy days since whatever extra work I do now won't make much difference in the long run (boom, boom). Main goals then are not to get injured and nurse the niggles back to health. I felt a bit fragile the last 2 days, but today's run was better. Yesterday's recovery really was a recovery.
I didn't feel as fatigued as normal before the work out. Maybe I'm not doing enough work!

Times were 1.26, 1.24, 1.22, 1.19, 4*1.17, 1.14, and 1.12.
It was a pleasing session after the last couple of days.

Easy

6.30am, 1 hour easy, Centennial Park

The muscles were good but the joints were sore after yesterday's long run. I progressively got faster, rising from a crawl to a half decent jog as the hour passed.

I didn't enjoy the first 10 minutes and thought about defering the run until the afternoon, but glad I did it by the end of the run. The hour passed remarkably quickly.

It was a pretty good morning for a run, and the run will set me up for the day.

Wowser serves 3 hours as punishment

6.00am, 3 hours, Moore & Centennial Parks

Last night I had a few enjoyable drinks with Owl, Go Girl and Go Boy at Jen_runs' engagement party. See Go Girl's blog for a possible team photo. Despite the happy occasion, I had to be the wowser and probably the first to go home to set the alarm for 5.40 am. There's always someone at the party with no endurance. The party probably took off after I left. Glad now I stopped at 3 beers last night and left Go Boy to quench his fierce thirst and resist our subtle attempts to make a runner out of him.

A warm morning for a run. As I ran out I saw a few people going home from the Cross nightclubs, and a couple having a blazing row. I had quite a few small niggles in the opening 30 minutes while running to and along the fairways at the Moore Park golf course. I felt very slow on the grass again, and did a few hill repeats on the elevated tee at the 5th and felt better on the hills. Slowly but surely the niggles all dissolved into the fairways and I was overcome by general fatigue.

At 7.30am ran behind some of Sean's squad, and battled quite a bit to maintain their long slow distance pace. By 8.30am I still had a bit of fuel in the tank and pushed the final 30 minutes hard. For the first time I saved the best effort for last today. I told Jen I'd do 30 minutes for her as penance for being a piker so that was it, and it was painful.

1 hour Dressed for success ( warning contains adult themes)

8.00am, 1 hour, Centennial Park

A late start after a welcome sleep in. An easy warm up to Centennial Park and then a decent tempo outside fence run.

Arrived back at the paddington gates at the Park, and saw the start of the Sydney Frontrunners (gay and lesbian) 5 km Mardi Gras run. It was advertised on the coolrunning calendar and men were to wear a black dress for the occasion. Forgot my frilly number dashing out the door and in shorts and singlet I did not want to make a spectacle of myself. There were about 40 athletes running, many in short black dresses. The race director announced that the start was near the 'entry only' sign. The imagination momentarily ran wild. The athletes however got off to a gentler start at well over 5 min/km pace in a carnival atmosphere.


Ran back home in shorts via Oxford Street which was predictably crowded

Friday frolic in the flowers

7.00am, 45 minutes easy, Botanical Gardens, Opera House, The Rocks

I felt quite stiff in the legs this morning. The good news was I was stiff in lots of new places, and not in the usual joints. It took me about 25 minutes to get going and by then I was getting ready to go home.

I was preoccupied with stiffness so paid scant attention to the sailors at Garden Island. I ran through the Botanical Gardens, and took a slightly longer route this week. I went around the perimeter of the opera house this morning and through The Rocks to the harbour bridge steps. Up the steps and back over the Cahill expressway to the Botanical Gardens again for the flower parade. I went back through Woolloomooloo. Nice run but I felt like I've pounded my new runners flat and there is no cushioning after one month.

Wild Wally

6.30am, 5 * 800 m, Centennial Park

A perfect morning for a few hills. A good crowd at sean's for the hill repetitions, and a guest appearance from Lulu.

Absent Ewan could still be MIA on a Vietnamese beach munching banana pancakes, so Liz helped drag me over the course with WTR (Mr Lulu) showing the benefits of his secret training camp out on the track.

Times on what was a flat performance were 2.47, 2.37, 2.37, 2.32, and 2.29.
Looking forward to an easy day or two now.

Mid week long

6.30am, 1 hour 45 minutes, Eastern suburbs

Another hilly run. I felt slightly tired but stronger climbing the hills this week, and kept up the pace up on the flat.

Around 90 minutes I chased a cyclist up a long hill which wasn't bad sport. He was riding in a very low gear.

A good workout and enjoyed the sea views again from Watsons Bay and Diamond Bay.

2 day hangover

6.30am, Intervals: 2000 m, 1600 m , 2*1200 m, Centennial Park

Legs were good after yesterday's 'recovery' run, though I was still a bit fatigued from the weekend.
Ran OK this morning and enjoyed the variety in distances. I would have enjoyed this more if a bit fresher in the legs. I can't be fresh for training unless I go down to training twice a week. Somehow I suspect this might impact on the overall fitness level.

Most of the action on the oval was either in front of me with Fats, or just behind me with some competitive racing going on.

Times were 7.28, 5.59, 4.28, and 4.22. A bit of a grind but another good quality session.

This is a recovery, you should see the workouts

6.15am, 1 hour, Centennial Park

After yesterday's 32km run plus 2 km warm up and 2km warm down, today's program was for one hour. The recovery run has been gently increased from 30 minutes to 1 hour. It was manageable.

My recovery the day after a long run has gone from zero in the old days, to one hour on the program. I couldn't do a lot on today's recovery run, just marvel that I could do it at all.

striders star (long run) - Bobbin Head

6.00am, 2 hours 29 minutes, 31.6 km, Wahrooga - Bobbin Head return.

My first STAR was a scenic and tough run. I enjoyed running with a diverse group of good runners in the 6.20 am group, and getting plenty of hill work. The pace extended me, and quickly accelerated after a good long warm up. I was pretty good in the second hour of the long run this week. Now to do some work on that third hour.

The STAR was particularly enjoyable at the finish for eating fruit, muffins, brownies and the copious drinks.

I'm going to be a bit stiff tomorrow morning.

Saturday 4 February 2006

Ran the striders 10km at Lane Cove. Finished in 38.43.
Tough race, happy with the result.

Yesterday's long winded report got sucked in and gobbled up by blogger, so in short there was pain, hills, more pain, and a fast finish for a pb.

Olfactory sensation

7.00am, 30 minutes easy, Botanical gardens, Opera House, Mrs Macquarie's chair

A good day for a run: cool and light drizzle.

Legs felt sluggish and the joints weren't flash, but this morning I was doing a very easy cruise run after a couple of solid days. I ran past the naval base at Garden Island - potts point and noticed lots of men in white uniforms going to work. Not my first choice of outfit, but I'm a pretty fashionable guy in my target coolmax socks.

I felt tired going up the small hill from Woolloomoolloo (which I'll learn to spell soon), and ran past a boot camp group of unfit looking people in khaki near the open air cinema. I took a new root through the botanical gardens and the clear highlight of the morning, apart from the men in uniform, was the strong smell of flowers in the botanical gardens - I'm sounding very sensitive and new age this morning, if not camp - I haven't eaten lentils and garlic for a few days and I can smell something else. One of aspects of running I like are the sights and sounds outside.

Battled home and it was a pretty average run. Did I mention that www.dictionary.com is one of my favourite websites?

Fartlek with sweat

6.30am, 50 minutes fartlek, Centennial Park

Nice and humid in the park this morning. I felt a bit tired warming up on the run to the park after yesterday's session.

Nice big group with Sean this morning including Liz Miller who is in his afternoon squad. Liz was the first placed woman a few years ago in the city to surf.

I am usually sluggish on the first fartlek surge, but today it felt good. I could feel the last few weeks of work coming together. This sensation does not happen very often and I'll try and bottle it. I felt fatigued in the recoveries, but good on the surges. Today was a good session.

Tagged and shagged out

Finally,

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was backpacking in Sulawesi and Timor, having quit my job in Alice Springs and heading eventually for Sydney to do more study. Timor was good, Sulawesi was wild.

2. Five snacks I enjoy

Frozen bananas - try one
muesli & yoghurt
Frozen grapes
oats & dried fruit
cabernet sauvignon

3. five songs I know all the words to

Land of hope and glory
Collingwood football club song
(this is hard work, pathetic I know)

4. Five things I would do if I was a millionaire
look for another one to marry.
run
drink cab sav
worry about money
sleep more

5. Five things I like doing
As in 4.

No, actually: run fast, listen to music, read about international relations, experience different cultures, and climb mountains

6. Five toys
mop, cooking pots, vacuum cleaner, toilet brush, and dishwashing liquid.

Under pressure 1 hour 50 minutes

6.00am, 1 hour 50 minutes, Rushcutters Bay - Watsons Bay - North Bondi - Bondi Junction - Rushcutters Bay

I had a matter in court listed at 9.15 am, so I had to leave the office at 9am and working backwards, I had to leave home at 6am for this run. Nothing like a bit of time pressure to keep me on edge for the whole run. If you were wondering, no it isn't a criminal case and I'm not the accused and out on bail at large in the community.

I maintained a steady pace, and compared with the same run last week, I was 2-3 minutes slower in the first hour to Dover Heights after a few hills. This surprised me and I thought my watch was lying to me. But I didn't tank in the second hour and I was pacing myself better this week. Funny what a few 3 hour training runs does for your endurance and pacing.

Magnificent morning for a run, overcast, fresh and being out in the elements sensation.

So I get to the office at 8.50am and check out the court list on the supreme court website and discovered the matter is listed at 12.00pm, not 9.15am.