Barge arse is back

7.00am, 90 minutes, Moore & Centennial Park

I dutifully spent yesterday and this morning doing additional glute exercises to regain my mammoth posterior. It's been quite an insight into how much difference a larger bottom makes in just a day or two.

This morning's run starting slowly enough but with the additional girth I got my second wind after 45 mintues and exploded up the small hills around the parks.

I've still got a way to go, but the backside will hopefully keep expanding by the day.

SuperWomen and Men

6.15am, 3km, 2km & 1km, Centennial Park

First, an injury update; the tightness in the glutes this morning is the same as January's L5-S1 referred joint pain (so my physio thought in January anyway). So back to redraw the continuous loop of additional stretching and strengthening exercises, and add January's glute exercises. Confident now I'll clear this up quickly. This referred joint pain is a pain in the arse, but so am I. It feels kind of natural to be on the receiving end of this. Instant Karma.

Second I had an interesting chat to Ellie, who's recently had more job changes than I've had hot dinners, and Amjan about careers in law and order, and working with a superwoman. Thirdly, Jenny was looking at race photos where she was running at Olympic Park just behind the lead cyclist describing the difficulties lapping other competitors and staying behind the lead cyclist. Too true. I've had a gutful of problems as race leader over the years. I usually sit well behind the main pack these days.

Finally, my times for the intervals were shite, and I had Steve in Shakespearian black tights telling me he was about to nail me at 600m - and he wasn't just trying to wind me up.

Kiss the bride, catch the bouquet

7.00am, 2 hours, Centennial Park

Not having raced on Saturday, I instead drunk champagne and ate wedding cake. Hence, I was on fire this morning, full of carbohydrates and nuptial goodwill. I felt surprisingly good and the glutes appreciated a weekend off racing.

There was a big crowd out there, and I was able to surge a few times with fresh legs. Finished off the session with Royworlds doing a solid inner fence. We saw Kit a few times, she was so far ahead of Sean's squad that Kit had to turn around a few times at the end of the fartlek surges to pick the rest of Sean's squad up - either that, or Kit might have been running in the other direction.

Bumped into Superflake on the way home: secret training for the ANSW state relays. Anchor leg material for mine.

I missed the bride's bouquet yesterday, so I've got more time for training now ;-).

All my friends are getting married

7.00am, 14km, Moore Park

No time this afternoon to run the East Metropolitan Cross Country, since I went to a wedding, not mine. So I did another morning run.

Glutes were a bit sore so nothing hard, nothing fast. I kept up a steady pace, mainly on the golf course which was pretty quiet after the rain and in the cloudy conditions.

Wedding was a big church affair. I haven't been to one for a while. The church service was at Hurstville with singing, and reception at The American Club in Macquarie Street: with portrait of George W Bush and sweeping views across the harbour and eastern suburbs. I was sipping champagne from 2.30pm when I could've been at Mutch Park warming up for the 6km.
Being a runner I didn't fill up on the standard servings and had to have seconds of wedding cake. It was a tough day out there.

Fartlek ** un-PC language warning**

6.15am, 1 hour fartlek, Centennial Park

Up early again for real training. A good crowd out at Sean's including Kit for her comeback. Kit seemed to be progressively getting all the gear off except for the short black gloves. She might have planned a couple of burglaries in Randwick, and Kit did disappear for a while. The Superflake Estate is somewhere around there too.

I was a bit fatigued still from the SMH half so battled around behind the leading ladies Liz and Jenny, chick-magnet Dimitri and trophy-winner Horsborough. The SMH 1/2 all male team results said - First Striders: 1. Guzzo 2. Horsborough 3. Daylight, but the whisper around the track is that finishing order won't last long.

It was a hard workout, and I lacked a bit of zip around the park.
Next week should see a return of the fearsome pace.

Back to the lentils

7.30am, 40 minutes easy, Woolloomooloo - Opera House - Botanical Gardens

The last of the recovery runs which I've enjoyed more than racing. I was moving in a fairly fluid fashion having had a couple of easy days already this week. I got a couple of looks from other runners around the Botanical Gardens in my coolrunning cap and tight black underpants; and I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt too out of modesty.

I am looking at doing City to Surf and Sydney marathon despite vowing in March never again, no more marathons. So between now and September get ready for 3 months of whinging and whining about fatigue, strange niggles, my incredible speed going down the gurgler, and very handy excuses for crashing and burning in every other race in between.

Otherwise, I'm back on the lentils for 3 months and farting around town. It's good to have personal goals and share it all with friends.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

6.30am, 40 minutes easy, Centennial Park

I did a very light recovery run yesterday, felt very tired, and then felt much better this morning. I jogged down to Centennial Park in almost record time. I was on fire. I thought I'd see who didn't run the SMH 1/2 on Sunday and who was out with Sean doing intervals.

I caught Sparkie leaving early on the bike. There were a few out there on McKay Oval: Ed and Vespa were charging around, and then I saw a blue and pink flash near the front of the group. I checked my pulse since I thought I saw Fats out there after his 77 minute half on Sunday. The hallucinations deepened when I thought I was actually chatting to Fats about upcoming races. The sky then turned a tangerine colour.

I also had a chat to Kerry, Deanne and Ali who was still shell-shocked from her first ever road-race. Ali is preparing for her maiden marathon, the gold coast marathon, and was totally unprepared for the manic crowd at the SMH 1/2. I had to do a bit of impromptu confidence building about completing a marathon, and played the reasoned voice of experience. I was a really caring SNAG. Then the sky changed back to blue and gray.

I headed home via Moore Park; flew home this morning. I was feeling quite good.

SMH 1/2 marathon

7.30am, SMH 1/2 marathon, City

Finished in 84.30 (approx). It was a 3 minute half marathon PB, and a 12 minute course PB which indicates how far I've come in the space of a year. It wasn't quite up to the 10km pace I've run in the past month but I don't do many 1/2 marathons.

I found today's run a hard run, especially after the 11 km mark. I must be going soft doing all this racing over 5-10km, and no long marathon training runs. I slowed a bit in the second lap but didn't fall in a heap. Compared with recent races, I noticed there were people running at different paces throughout the whole race which was a bit unnerving at times.

It was a great day for a run, and great conditions. I did get a lot of cheers from the sidelines or other side of the road which were much appreciated: Kit, 2Ps, Kerry, MPHaz, and a few striders supporters.

Great runs out there from Vat, Ewan and Tux. Good to catch up with 26 miles after the race. Had two sleeps today after race. Physically, I pulled up well after the race, no niggles or soreness.

Getting away from it all

8.00am, 30 minutes easy, Domain - Martin Place

I wanted to get away from it all this morning so jogged over to Martin Place in the CBD. There was a bonus state of origin rugby league promotion with hundreds of people crowding around Pitt Street. I don't think anyone in the city that owns a suit or finished secondary school follows league so the numbers swelled with channel 9 employees and beefy NRL goons.

As part of some locum duties, I had to go to York Street today for 5 minutes so I combined it as part of the morning run. Much better than catching the train and commuting.
On the way home I saw Vespa in the domain doing fartlek with an ipod. I couldn't pick up speed in time to catch her.
Go the Blues.

Late run, punctual massage

7.30am, 6 * 400m, Centennial Park

A late and cruisy session. Averaged 1.22 for each repetition.

Biggest work out for the day was with EasyTiger for the massage. Excellent job.
As for the rooms, I was used to the physio massages under flourescent lights and sterile clinical conditions.
This was a much more sensory affair with ritzy premises, dimmed lighting and mood music. Very limited nudity though.

Zombie

6.15am, 2.4km * 2 reps, 1.6km *1 rep , Centennial Park

Apologies to the good readers for me having written so much drivel lately; I am slightly sheepish so much rubbish yesterday attracted so many comments. The recent rubbish is in contrast to the earlier masterpieces of English prose. I was watching the Alan Clark Diaries on the ABC last Sunday and struck by the wealthy Englishman's florid turns of phrase and shagging multiple women at the same time. There is something very appealing about the english way of life.

I was feeling tired in the legs this morning at training, and couldn't do much about it. During all repetitions I fell off the back of the tightly bunched A-team of runners pretty quickly this morning, and ran with all my mates pat-malone. I even started day-dreaming during the second repetition until Sean woke me up with a slow sounding lap time. I was oblivious to pain this morning. I was running not so much like a machine but more of a Zombie.
I might get out the voodoo dolls and make-up for Sunday's race.

.

Howler

7.00pm, 40 minutes, Centennial Park

Just as I was going out the door this morning, I heard the rain suddenly thunder down. Since it was a short session, I had time for a coffee to reflect on how little it has rained at this hour of the day recently, and how my hair might look wet.

It was a good and soggy run. Sean has massaged the running program so that I am tapered and well rested for the half marathon this Sunday. So only 5 more days to find another excuse for a howler.

Hot and Cold

7.00am, 90 minutes, Centennial Park

An easier Sunday than usual and I realised I'd worked harder than I thought yesterday by the tiredness in the legs. In a small group of three I did an inside fence, then outside circuit of the park.

Bumped into Lulu and Wine Trail Runner at Darley Road looking very fit. Lulu kept bobbing up everywhere around the park, so she must have been fleet of foot. Lulu seemed to know the Park shortcuts better than Billy Idol too.

It was a cool overcast day for a run, and the body didn't enjoy it as much as usual. I was still warming up the legs after 90 minutes of running. I might have to get back into the 2 hour warm-ups, or move to Cairns. I've got an easier week tapering for the SMH 1/2 next Sunday, so I'll wait a week before I call the removalists.

Tempo and sleep

7.30am, 25 minute tempo, Centennial Park

Program said tempo run at half marathon pace. It's been a while since I ran one in September 2005. The legs felt good. I did a lengthy warm up, and then did a good 25 minute tempo run at around half marathon pace around the perimeter of Centennial Park. I took off closer to 10km pace, slowed down pretty quickly, then kept up a good pace for the rest of the run. Not sure if I could do the pace for another hour or so, maybe longer next Sunday at the SMH 1/2 marathon.

A good warm down and the saturday run was all over by 9.00 am, in theory allowing for a productive day. I still collapsed and went out like a light for an afternoon nap. Exercise is supposed to help you sleep, but not all day.

Big softie

7.00am, 30 minutes, Mrs Macquarie's Chair - Botanical Gardens - Woolloomooloo

Woke up to driving rain which blew away by the time I got out the door. A very easy run the body was calling out for. I barely broke out of a slow stroll. There were a few people out on the SMH 1/2 course doing secret training.

No racing tomorrow, I'm looking forward to the first Saturday off racing for a good month or so.
I must be going soft. But I've still got a tempo run to do.

Wildest wally

6.15am, 5* 700m hill repetitions, Centennial Park

A good crowd at training, and they're not getting any slower up the front. It was good to see Kit back in action and being a fashionista, she was dressed for a tea-party.

Up early for a some stretching and in a reverse of the normal routine, I felt very good during the warm-ups and just OK during the repetitions. It was a wild ride. Paced myself reasonably well.

Being a delicate petal, I'm having a big week clocking up the 100+ kms on the program, and I'm looking forward to an easy day tomorrow.

Times were 2.29, 2.26, 2.27, 2.27 and 2.18.

Big dumplings

6.30am, 90 minutes, SMH 1/2 marathon course - Surry Hills - Paddington

I ran all over the place this morning just clocking up the mid-week long run. I did one lap of the SMH 1/2 course (11km) and then tried an exploratory run through Surry Hills linking two of my other favourite runs: Moore Park & Botanical Gardens. Occasionally I branch off on a new run and find something very pleasant and find myself ;-). Other times I find something new but uninspiring. This morning was one of those other times. I probably just picked the wrong streets.

I felt very ordinary on the SMH 1/2 course: tired legs, flat, creaking left knee, and the chinese dumplings last night for dinner caused another pit-stop at circular quay toilets. That's another item along with lentils that's off the menu the night before the race. I'll be eating plain white bread on race eve the way I'm going.

Caught in the act

6.15am, 2.4km 1.6km & 1.2km, Centennial Park

I felt pretty good this morning with no aches or pains.

I discovered that the legs were still tired from the weekend once I got going, and the repetitions were a bit sluggish. I can see why Sean's program was a bit lighter this morning. Everyone else seemed to run well except Royworlds and myself. Times for the repetitions were 8.51, 5.53 and 4.18 ( I think).

I was doing a longer warm down home to make up the kilometres on Sean's program, which top 100 km this week, when I bumped into Cindy. She wondered whether I was doing secret training.
Good grief. As if I would do that, and not share the insight with my good readers!

The morning after

7.00am, 2 hours, Centennial Park

I slept well last night; must have put my body through some sort of physical test yesterday.

I was in pretty reasonable shape this morning after yesterday digesting Lulu's lemon and pear muffin on an empty stomach and racing the Holsworthy 10 km. I bumped into Sparkie on the way to Centennial Park and then started with Wine Trail Runner, Roysworld, Sparkie and Vespa. Royworlds had gone to an 80's party last night, drunk light beer, and come straight to training in these hilarious baggy running shorts and red Bjorn Borg sweat band under his garmin 305. He's such a card.

The pace picked up, particularly after joining Sean's main squad: so much for a recovery run. I got my second wind after an hour and ran the second inner fence lap solidly, passing Lulu, sans muffins, died in the arse right on the stroke of 2 hours, and cruised home sluggishly.

NSW State 10km Road Championships

1.00pm, 10km, Holsworthy Army Base

"Marching soldiers have right of way", and big weapons.

A successful afternoon after a busy and tiring week. There was a big field for the 10km race, a good representation of sydney striders and a few Randwick Botany harriers making up the numbers ;-).

The course was 2 * 4.8 km road loops with 400m extra on road inside the army base. From the start I didn't feel too bad, and slipped in behind Mohammed and Vat ahead of him running strongly. Instead of battling the first few kms as usual, this week I was able to surge a bit after 2km and felt I could hold the pace. So I pushed up the pace a touch and settled into a pretty smooth rhythm: probably the most pleasing part of the run. There were a few long straights and steady gradients up and down on the course so it was easy to run smoothly.

I ended up running between striders Jenny Truscott and Vat most of the race. I went through 5.4 km in around 18.50, a time someone yelled out at the finish line. The second lap was more of a struggle but I ran at close to the same steady pace. Chivalry is not dead, so I passed Jenny T at around 9 km. The last km was a real battle but got home inside 37 minutes.

Ran 36.56 by my watch, a 30 second PB from last week. I never thought of myself as a 36 minute 10km runner. I could get used to this. Good runs from Royworlds and Easy Tiger who was very cagey on his handicap. He could be a professional poker player.

Thanks to the Lulus for a very comfortable ride in the new Italian Lulumobile with racing-red leather upholstery, and personal cigarette ashtray. I left the rollies at home too.

More sekret training

6.30am, 1 hour, SMH 1/2 course

A steady run around the SMH half marathon course this morning. The program said easy so I didn't push the pace at all. The legs were good but I felt sluggish up the hills in any event. The Hunter Street hill is the toughest hill on the course, but it's all relative: there's no Mini-mini or Pluviometer out there.

I ate Indian lentils yesterday for lunch and this morning I had to take an urgent pit stop at Circular Quay. Those lentils were wicked.

Good luck and good night

7.00am, 30 minutes easy, Centennial Park

An easy jog this morning. The legs were still feeling fatigued from the weekend's cumulative exertions.

Recently, the legs are feeling more muscle fatigue rather than joint aches and pains so that's some progress. I suspect that the body is finally getting used to this running caper again, but it's always talking to me about the workload.

A pleasant bright sunny morning for a run and I didn't do much in the Park except turn around and go home again. I was just about warmed up by the time the run ended. But I stuck to the program rather than continue. I felt mentally fatigued most of the day, and I'm about to nod off now......zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Centrefold

6.15 am, 2 * 2400, 1* 1600, Centennial Park

A huge crowd this morning, Lulu was back on the track, but no appearance from Billy Idol.
Legs still felt a bit tired but held up pretty well. Warm up was typically scratchy.

A good session which I spent chasing Ed most of the time. Royworlds was recovering from a virus, and struggled so much he was on the same lap as me. I didn't get lapped so Sparkie and Fats must have been cruising up front.

Times were 8.50, 8.45 and 5.47.

Deanne passed on some photo prints from Kit & Ray of me racing at the Endeavour Cup the weekend before last. One of the photos was centrefold material ;-).